On The Other Side
by The Dark Knight's Princess
Summary: Ever since she was a toddler, Alex has been completely sheltered from the corruptions of the world. But when her extremely powerful father, decides to put his pride and joy in a public school, how will she begin to fit in with what she calls 'normal' teenagers her age? And how does the shy girl with her nose always in a book fit in to all of this? HS A/U
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: In amends of me abruptly and sloppily ending 'Lesson's Learned' I stayed up super late writing this while I still had a plan for the first chapter in my head. (I was also up with this really horrid cough that prevented me from getting any kind of sleep. Yeah guys, I'm still sick.) Anyway, this story is a different kind of AU, but I hope that you all will enjoy it. I think it'll be a fun write/read. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any unoriginal Law and Order character in this story. All the original characters, I do claim. **

"Daddy, you cannot be serious about this!"

Alex glares deathly at her father, disagreeing completely with what he has just told her. There is just no way this can be happening to her.

Robert Cabot sighs and leans back in his chair. "Honey, I think its time that we expand your horizons. Don't you think this would be a good learning experience for you? Your mother already thinks so."

Alex folds her arms tightly and once again continues to glare burning holes into her father.

"But Daddy, its public school! What if I get kidnapped, or bullied, or infected with some deadly disease that they haven't found a cure for yet because it's been only known to grow in the infectious realms of publicized schools?! You can't do this to me!" she shouts once again.

Robert sighs and rests his elbows on his desk. Usually he is a very busy man, especially with what he does, he wouldn't have time for such an argument. But he finds, despite his job, he always has time for his little girl…even if she is being overly difficult.

"Alex sweetie, your mother and I think that this would be a wonderful experience for you. It would give you a chance to make new friends, to get out more. Don't you get bored just being here all day, everyday? We just want what's best for you and we believe that this will be what you need."

Alex scoffs and folds her arms as she realizes that she's losing the argument with her father. She knows that once he and her mother make up their minds, there is absolutely going to be no turning back.

"…do I have to Daddy?" she pouts, making one last ditch effort to change his mind.

Robert smiles, showing off his perfectly whitened teeth. He shakes his head at how his daughter is trying to use her charm to get him to change his mind. Unfortunately, it's a tactic she's used so often, he's kind of become immune to it.

"Yes Alexandra, you have to. I honestly do not think that it will be as bad as you are making it out to be. Who knows, maybe you will meet some amazing new people and have some amazing new friends. I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you get used to it." he says nicely.

Alex rolls her eyes and averts her eyes to another corner of the room. She cannot believe that her father is doing something like this, and for what reason, she will never be able to understand.

Honestly, and for her mother to agree to it! She just can't come to any conclusion on why her parents all of a sudden hate her and want to punish her by doing such a thing like send her to a public school with…other kids.

"Fine…but only because you said that I have to, and sitting her continuing to argue with you would be completely pointless. But I hope you don't expect me to be happy about this, because I most definitely won't be." She says spitefully.

Robert sighs and stands up from his chair, walking around his desk to where Alex is standing. He places his hands on her shoulders and looks down at her, feeling her anger just radiating off in waves.

"You'll be fine Alex, I promise. There will be men all over the school watching you, and making sure that nothing will happen. You'll be fine sweetheart."

Alex sighs before she gives in and wraps her arms around her father. She knows that he would never do something that would put her in any kind of danger, but that still doesn't mean that she has to be in favor of his decision making.

"I love you Daddy…even if you do make me angry sometimes." She says tightly holding on to him.

"I love you too sweetheart. And don't you ever forget, no matter what this job requires, I will always have time for you." he responds, kissing the teen on the forehead. Alex gives her dad one last smile before she exits his office, heading back to her room. She still is upset about her parents' decision to send her to a public school, but she knows that there isn't anything at all that she can do about it.

Alex has been pretty much sheltered her entire life, but with her father now being the most powerful man in the entire country, her upbringing kind of makes a whole lot of sense.

While Robert was a senator for the longest of times, Alex was always shielded by her mother from the possible dangers of the outside world by making sure she was home schooled, and keeping her as far away from corruption as possible.

But now, as she is now sixteen, and her father has been elected President of The United States, everything changes completely for her.

Her parents suddenly felt the need to expose her to the rest of the world and put her out there to quote unquote 'interact' with other kids her age; their words, not hers.

If Alex were to have it her way, she would definitely not be attending any kind of public school. Hell, she isn't sure that she would attend a private school. She just doesn't like the idea of coming into contact with other kids.

All in all, she still does love her parents deeply, even if she does feel like their logic is flawed. She would be lying to herself if she thought that they never wanted what was best for her. She just hopes that the decision isn't as bad as it's appearing to be.

* * *

**A Week Later **

Alex stares at the school begrudgingly, as she begins to regret letting her parents do something like this to her.

"You sure that you want me to do this…" she mumbles, glancing at her mother as she doesn't want to remove herself from the limousine.

Laura Cabot smiles at her daughter, sensing the teen's resentment for wanting to put her in public surroundings.

"Alex, we've already discussed that it will be a good experience for you. You'll like it, I promise." She says sweetly.

Alex rolls her eyes and kisses her mother on the cheek before she mumbles a quick 'love you' and exits the vehicle.

As soon as she steps outside of the vehicle, she is joined by a woman in a dark suit, sunglasses, an ear piece, and no down a gun hidden somewhere on her.

"You know, you really don't have to be here. I'm sure that it's less interesting for you as it is for me." Alex mutters as they begin making their way towards the school.

Secret Service Agent Eliza Castor lifts her sunglasses and gives Alex a 'really' look. "Alex it's my job to protect the president, and right now, it is my job to protect the president's daughter. You know this."

Alex sighs and shakes her head. "I know Liza…I just feel awkward with all of you guys watching me all day."

Liza shrugs and glances at their surroundings before she opens the door for Alex to enter the school.

"You won't even know we're here. I'll be like…invisible." She jokes, following the teen as she makes her way through the unknown halls of the school.

"Right. Well, if I order you to shoot someone will you?"

"…it doesn't work that way Ali, sorry."

Alex clicks her tongue in defeat. "Darn, I was hoping it did." She mumbles indignantly as they come upon what looks like the main office.

As soon as she steps inside, the secretaries all look up from what they were previously doing. They all seem to take in the intimidating looking woman who seems to be analyzing them all with in a matter of seconds, until their eyes fall on the president's daughter.

"You must be Alex." One of the ladies says as she begins rummaging for something on her desk.

Alex rolls her eyes and makes a face. 'Well duh, I'm the daughter of the President, who DOESN'T know who I am…' she thinks to herself.

The secretary produces a paper and holds it out for Alex to take. Liza quickly takes the paper and reads over it quickly before she hands it to the young blonde.

"Um….we are so glad that you'll be attending school here. I'm sure you are well aware of all of your security details." The woman says, becoming nervous under the steely gaze of the secret service agent.

"Thank you ma'am, and yes I'm well aware." Alex replies as she begins reading over her schedule.

"Right…well now that all of that is settled, I can show you to your first class." The woman says as she walks around the desk to lead the teen and the agent to Alex's first class.

"I'm sure that you will really enjoy going to school here. It really shouldn't take you long to fit in well. You're first class is AP U.S. History, after that, I'm sure that you'll have no troubles finding your way around. I'm Ms.…"

"Charlotte Banks. Secretary for this school for ten years." Liza cuts in, knowing everything about anything pertaining to the school staff.

Ms. Banks pauses and nods her head in confirmation, still feeling extremely intimidated by the agent. Alex snickers quietly at the exchange.

"As I was saying, I'm Ms. Banks, and I'm always in the front office, if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know." she says again as she steps into a room with Alex and Eliza trailing not to far behind.

As soon as she steps into the room, Alex can feel everyone's eyes on her. She isn't sure if it's because they know who she is, or if they just look at everyone like that.

Ms. Banks whispers something to the teacher, who quickly nods her head as she looks over Alex's schedule herself. In the meantime, Liza is taking the time to make sure that she makes eyes contact with every student in the room, strictly so she can remember their faces.

"I'll just be right out side." She whispers quietly into Alex's ear as she and Ms. Banks make their exit.

The teacher, an woman who looks to be in her mid to late forties clears her throat awkwardly. "So…um….do you wish do be called Alexandra or do you prefer…"

"Just Alex is fine…" Alex responds, loathing the unnecessary use of her full name.

"Oh okay, well, Alex, I am Ms. Ford and this here is U.S. History, but I'm sure that you are very well of that. If you would like, you can take a seat right there next to Serena." Ms. Ford says pointing to an empty desk next to an antsy looking blonde girl.

Alex internally groans and makes her way over to her new seat. She takes a seat in the desk, and tries to ignore the occasional glances that she's getting from other people.

"Hi." The girl next to her says excitedly as she beams at her brightly.

Alex blinks several times before she turns to the girl and forces a smile. "Hello…" she responds.

"I'm Serena. You must be new here seeing as I've never really seen you around here before. We really don't get a whole lot of new people all that often." The girl rambles on.

Alex nods her head, forced smile still in place. "Yeah well…I'm Alex…"

"That's a nice name. I can show you around if you want, so you don't get lost. Was that lady in the suit your mom?"

"No she wasn't she's…just a friend. And I think I'll find my way around just fine."

"Oh nonsense. Here let me see your schedule." Serena says, taking Alex's schedule from her hands with out asking for it.

Alex frowns and shifts uncomfortably in her desk. Honestly, why can't this girl take the hint that she really doesn't want to talk to her? She's been more than polite about it, hasn't she?

"Oh cool, you have Physics next! I have that too, oh my god you're going to love it, it's so much fun. I can show you how to get there when we leave from here. Maybe we'll even get to be lab partners!" Serena squeals excitedly.

Alex takes her schedule back and smiles awkwardly once again. "Yeah that'd be…great…"

The class seems to sit in a complete silence before the teacher finishes typing something on her computer and stands up to begin teaching in front of the class.

"Okay class, who can tell me what Revolutionary War battle led to the 'Great Runaway'?" Ms. Ford asks expectantly.

None of the students respond to the question, and the room once again falls into the heavy silence of a dismissive boredom.

Alex glances around the room before she slowly raises her hand to answer the question. Ms. Ford blinks for a moment as she realizes that for once someone is going to answer a question in her class.

"Oh…yes Alex?" she asks, slightly excited to hear an answer from someone.

"Um…well, the 'Great Runaway' came from the Battle of Wyoming, and the Wyoming Massacre. On July 3, 1778 an America militia had a standoff with an invading British army that greatly out numbered them in the Wyoming Valley. This resulted in the American's retreating from the battle to avoid the onslaught of the British soldiers. The invaders destroyed many homes and killed many citizens within the Valley as well as crops, and cattle. The news of the massacre spread quickly along the rive and settles in the Wyoming Valley began to flee in panic from the invasion of the British soldiers, thus gaining it's name 'The Great Runaway'…"

Ms. Ford stares at Alex in complete and utter shock, and her mouth actually opens and closes several times because she has absolutely no idea of what to do, while Serena stares at Alex as if she had just been the one to figure out the cure for the common cold.

"U-um…that's right…" Ms. Ford mumbles, still in shock from usually only receiving blank uninterested stares from her students.

Alex shrugs her shoulders and begins absentmindedly doodling on her notepad. It was an easy question that she could have answered in her sleep, she just hopes that there aren't any more that are going to be just like it, making the period drag on even more.

Unfortunately, her wishes don't come true and the time left in the class period seemed to have been ticking by even slower by the second. In fact, Alex is overly thankful when the bell finally rings, that is, until Serena is literally dragging her out of the classroom.

"Oh my god Alex, you're going to love it here. So, did your parents move here for work or something, or did you just transfer schools?" the other girl asks as they weave their way through the halls filled with students.

Alex blinks and gives Serena a look of disbelief. This girl really does have absolutely no idea of who she is. She supposes that could probably make sense seeing as not everyone follows the world of politics.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Eliza hanging back keeping a safe enough distance away from them as she follows them to her next class, and she swears that she passes at least three more agents on the way there. It isn't until then that she realizes that she hasn't answered Serena's question.

"Um….no, actually I just…transferred her. I used to be home schooled but my parents wanted me to get this whole, public school experience." She mumbles as Serena drags her into a classroom.

"Oh, well that's cool. It must be different from your whole home school experiences then huh?" Serena inquires as she takes her seat on a stool at one of the lab stations. "Here, you can sit next to me. Dr. Munch really won't mind if you sit here; I've just been dying for someone to sit next to me. I get lonely sometimes when I don't have anyone to talk to.

'Well obviously, because you seem to never stop talking.' Alex thinks to herself as she sits on the stool next to Serena.

Fortunately, there is a substitute teacher for the day and Alex doesn't have to worry about Eliza scaring the shit out of another teacher. But this unfortunately means that the students are goofing off instead of doing the assigned packet the teacher left for them. The assigned packet that Alex is able to finish in less than ten minutes.

"Why you're really good at everything aren't you?" Serena says noticing how Alex has completed the science packet.

Alex shrugs nonchalantly as she begins checking over her work making sure that she has done every formula correctly. She looks up and rolls her eyes as she sees two brunettes in the front of the classroom, trying to see how many sharpened pencils they can get stuck to the ceiling panels.

"See her over there?" Serena says as she leans in closer to Alex, pointing to the brunette with long, wavy dark haired that's pulled into a ponytail. "That's Abbie Carmichael; she's the captain of the varsity girls soccer team. I also think she is like, super hot."

Alex frowns and looks away from her packet giving Serena a look of confusion. "She looks like an idiot…" she states as she looks back to see Abbie and her friend still laughing at how they're sticking pencils to the ceiling, trying to spell some profane word.

"She's actually pretty smart, she has to be for soccer and all. My friend Kim told me that Abbie wants to ask me out, but I don't believe her. Not that I'd be complaining if it happened though." Serena says day dreamily.

Alex watches as Abbie turns around and winks at Serena who is waving back at her like a hypnotized moron. It's actually something that Alex finds pretty funny.

"Anyway, that's Abbie, and the girl next to her is Olivia Benson. She's on the basketball team." Serena informs, as she begins going through the entire class telling Alex something that she should probably need to know.

Alex listens intently because she literally has nothing better to do for the next half hour. She glances around the room as Serena's talking, and she spots a red haired girl with glasses sitting in the far back corner of the room, with her nose buried in a thick book that looks at least a good few hundred pages.

"Who is that?" she asks curiously. She isn't sure why she's interested in knowing who the girl is, she just felt the need to ask seeing as she's heard about everyone else in the room.

"Oh." Serena says blandly as her eyes fall on who Alex is referring to; the girl with the book. "That's Casey Novak. She doesn't really say much. Now that I think about it, I think I've heard her speak a total of four words since freshman year. She just kinda keeps to herself, reads all the time, stuff like that, so I don't really know anything about her."

Alex hums and turns back towards the front of the class where she now sees Abbie and Olivia messing around with something in some test tubes. If the room explodes, at least she'll know who to blame.

After the terribly long physics period, Alex and Serena part ways because of the differences in their schedules, but much to Alex's slight dismay, Serena vows to find her for lunch so they can talk more.

She makes her way through the halls once more, with Liza once again following not to far behind her, making sure she is navigating through the halls easily with out any issues or disturbances.

Alex is about mid way to her next class when she spots that Casey girl walking the opposite direction on the other side of the wall. She watches as someone bumps into the redhead causing her to drop all of her books and passing students succeed in scrambling them, kicking them to various parts of the hall.

She pauses briefly as she watches the girl on her hands and knees picking up her books and papers, trying to avoiding the onslaught of students in the hall.

Alex glances back at Liza who seems to have paused to keep the distance between them acceptable, and she decides to begin walking again, not wanting to be late for her next class. Maybe she'll find more out about the mystery girl later.

**Hope you guys enjoyed the start to this one. Leave a review? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Glad you guys are hooked on this story. I'm glad that you all enjoy my writing and continue to read it. So here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. **

Casey sighs internally as she slips into her AP Literature class. She takes her usual seat in the back of the room, adjusts her glasses, and opens her book once again to continue where she's left off.

She briefly glances around to the room to make sure no one is looking at her; they're not. Good, she hates it whenever people look at her. It makes her feel like they're talking about her in their minds, which they probably are, but it's just a lot easier for her to not have anything to speculate on.

Casey really isn't a student to say that she has friends. She finds it extremely hard to talk to people, but it's not like anyone wishes to talk to her anyway. They just simply do one of two things. They either a) Completely ignore her existence, or b) they bully her, and frankly she wishes that the former happened more frequently than the latter.

Both things are something that she tells her self that she has kind of gotten use to it, but that doesn't make it hurt any less whenever it happens. She can't even begin to imagine how many times someone has made some snarky comment that was intended to be hurtful, or the number of times that someone has shoved her in the hall causing her to either fall or drop all of her things.

Casey comes from a family of five, that being herself, her mother, and her three younger sisters that she helps her mother take care of. Her mother is a teacher at another school, so she's almost always taking care of her sister's when she gets home, and even after depending on how exhausted her mom is. She doesn't mind though.

As for school, she does pretty well. All of her classes her advanced placement, and she excels in most of them, minus the struggle that she's having in AP Trigonometry. She also refrains from being involved in any extracurricular activities, not that anyone would want her to join something anyway.

Casey looks up briefly from her book to see that she also has a substitute in this class as well. She groans silently and goes back to her book, as she realizes that the students are going to basically do whatever it is they want to do, and obviously, the sub does not care.

She sighs and is about to turn the page when her book is ripped right out of her hands. Of course a substitute means no structure in the classroom, and no structure in the classroom means that the other kids are free to mess with her if they so wish to.

"'Jurassic Park'…Hey isn't that the movie about dinosaurs?" Olivia asks examining the book she's taken from the redhead.

Casey opens her mouth to respond, but she realizes that there is someone on the other side of her. She looks away from Olivia and finds a smirking Abbie leaning on her desk.

"You like dinosaurs, Novak? Isn't that kind of a little kid thing?" The taller brunette says, smirk still in place.

Casey blushes and shrinks down in her seat. "N-no….it's interesting because it talks about how human technology was able to extract prehistoric DNA from mosquitoes and use it to recreate prehistoric creatures." She says quietly.

"Wow, that sounds….extremely lame." Abbie responds blandly as Olivia reaches around Casey and hands her the book. She then closes it, succeeding in losing the page that Casey was on.

"C-can I have my book back….please?" Casey asks softly, really wanting to be left alone for the rest of the class period.

Abbie hums and looks at the ceiling as she pretends to think for a moment. "And if I say no?"

Casey shrinks in her chair once again. She does suppose that there isn't a whole lot that she can do if Abbie won't give her book back to her.

Abbie laughs and opens the book to the last couple of pages. "What would you do if I tore out the last page, huh?"

Casey's eyes widen and she shakes her head. "Please don't…"

"I dunno. What do you think she'll do if I tear out the last page, Liv?"

Olivia shrugs nonchalantly at the question. "I dunno. I think she'll cry." She responds, a smirk spreading across her face.

Abbie then slowly begins to tear out the last few pages of the book, watching Casey's reaction.

Casey feels heat rush to her face, and she stares at the table intently, knowing that people are laughing at her, but she tries to block it out anyway.

"Is that what you're gonna do? Are you gonna cry?" Abbie presses on, knowing that her words are getting to the quiet redhead.

"I think she's gonna cry Abbie." Olivia adds on, taking note of the look on Casey's face.

Casey shakes her head and continues to stare hard at the table. The laughing kids around her, are making extremely hard to drown them out, and Abbie continuing to pick on her is not helping the situation.

Her emotions are starting to get the better of her, and she begins rubbing her eyes frantically to keep unnecessary tears at bay. Unfortunately, her attempts are futile, and tears begin to brim her eyes.

"I'm not gonna cry…" she musters, her voice cracking on the tail end of her sentence. "Please give me my book back…."

Abbie stops tearing out pages of the book and watches as Casey shamefully rubs at her eyes.

"You're so lame. Who cries over a stupid book? Loser." Abbie says as she stands and tears the loose pages in pieces.

Even after Abbie and Olivia have walked away, Casey can still feel the other students staring at her, and probably laughing at her. She examines the shreds of what used to be pages of her book and finds it completely pointless to try and piece them back together.

Sniffling, she brings her book closer to her to examine the damage. Her heart sinks when she realizes that Abbie has torn out a great number of pages, and that it's basically ruined.

Casey is thankful when the bell rings, signaling it's time for her to go to her next class. She quickly gathers all of her textbooks and notebooks before she exits the classroom.

As she's walking down the hall, several people intentionally bump into her, until one person just blatantly knocks all of her things out of her hands…again.

Sighing, Casey crouches down to the floor and tries to quickly gather her books before people kick them all over the place, or they're trampled. No one stops to help her, but she isn't really expecting someone to. She's sure that this will happen a few more times before the day is even over. It always does.

* * *

**Later **

"Oh my god, so you're like, totally the president's daughter! I cannot believe I didn't recognize who you were right away! You're a lot taller in person. Omg, wait until I tell my mom that I'm friends with the president's daughter!" Serena says over excitedly as she and Alex make their way to lunch.

_'We're friends…?'_ Alex thinks to herself. She's sure that Serena is going to be very hard to get rid of, so she might as well try and get used to the shorter blonde's bubbly attitude now. Well, at least she can say she made a friend….sorta.

"Omg, so do you live in the White House?" Serena asks, almost bouncing up and down as she leads the way outside.

"Um…yeah…" Alex responds slowly, fearing that Serena is about to bombard her with questions, and she might be right.

"Oh my god this is so cool! What's it like there? Is it big? I mean, of course it's big, it's the White House, but what's it like on the inside?"

"Uh…yeah it's big. Like, it's real easy to get lost and everything. They do White House tours, but in a different wing, but it's still a little weird to think that you have a huge crowd of people touring you're house while you're taking a nap, you know? My mom doesn't really like it when I leave my bedroom to wander around but I do it anyway. Don't really have anything else to do."

Serena pauses for a moment before she begins squealing in excitement once again. They begin walking again, with Serena babbling on how cool it is that Alex is the president's daughter. They come to a stop at a table that seats two brunettes and a blonde, all seemingly interested in their cell phones.

"These are my friends. I'm sure they won't mind if you sit with us." Serena says taking a seat on one of the benches. The three of her friends look up and eye the new coming curiously, but don't say anything right away.

Serena grins and turns back to Alex who is trying not to look uncomfortable. "This is Amanda, Connie, and Kim. Guys this is Alex….Alex Cabot."

Immediately the facial expressions of all three girls change and they all look at Serena for confirmation.

"You mean Cabot as in….the president?" Amanda asks carefully.

Alex nods and nervously rubs the back of her neck. "Yeah…that's…my dad…"

"Oh wow, that's really cool." Kim says interested. "Wait, is that why there are all these scary looking people with suits all over the school?"

Alex nods her head and Connie bounces in her seat, all the while pointing a triumphant finger at Kim.

"Ha! I told you! I told you that they looked like Secret Service! But noooo you said that there isn't a reason for Secret Service to be here. Ha, you were wrong!" she says happily, loving it whenever Kim is proven wrong about anything.

Kim rolls her eyes and turns back to Alex. "So why'd you come here? Don't your parents want to home school you or something?"

Alex shakes her head, finding it completely ironic that the situation is quite ironic. "No…well I mean, I was home schooled, but my parents decided that they should put me in a school with 'other kids' so I can get the feel of being around people…"

"So are you liking it?" Amanda adds in.

Alex shrugs her shoulders, not really sure of her answer. "I don't know yet. I mean, it's different but I don't really know how I feel. I guess I can say that it's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be."

The group of five engage into a light conversation, most of which being about Alex's life as the president's daughter, and what it's like being followed around by Secret Service all day.

"So, Serena's been bugging you ever since this morning huh?" Kim jokes, giving the shorter blonde an amused look.

_'Oh you have no idea.'_ Alex thinks, but decides it's best not to say it out loud. Maybe in time, she will come to get used to Serena's company.

"She's…just been welcoming which is okay, I suppose." Alex responds simply.

"She go on her Abbie rant yet?" Connie teases, causing Serena to blush like fifty shades of red.

"That's like all she ever talks about. 'Oh Abbie is sooooo hot" Amanda says mocking Serena in a high pitched voice.

"Ohhh look at the way Abbie chews her food. It's sooooo sexy." Kim adds in, as she and Amanda fan themselves, squealing.

"I do not sound like that." Serena grumbles, blushing furiously.

"Yes you do." Connie replies bluntly.

Alex snickers at the exchange between friends. It's actually quite amusing to be in the presence of other teenagers and to see how they interact with one another, as opposed to hanging around the house all day talking to Eliza whenever she's not working.

"From what I have observed, I personally think that Abbie lacks good mental structures." She says nonchalantly.

"Oh you mean you think she's stupid? Yeah so do we." Kim says taking her attention away from her phone.

Amanda snorts at the comment. "Yeah, all of us except Serena, who practically worships the ground she walks on."

"I do not worship the ground she walks on!" Serena exclaims, starting to blush once again.

"Yeah, okay. Keep denying your swooning." Connie says shaking her head.

"I do not swoon!"

Kim raises an eyebrow and glances around the table. "Any objections against wanting to test this theory." She questions the rest of the table. "Alex, any objections? I think since you're new, you get final say."

Alex thinks for a moment and grins at the fact that she might actually be making friends. She glances at a scowling Serena before she shrugs.

"I think it's a valid hypothesis." She says, watching as a wide grin spreads across Kim's face.

Kim exaggeratedly clears her throat before opening her mouth. "Hey Abbie, come here a sec!" she shouts getting the attention of the lean brunette that just so happens to be walking through the courtyard at the time.

Abbie deviates from her original course and walks over to the table where she heard her name shouted.

"What's up?" she asks, as she approaches the table to Kim who called her name.

"Did we have any homework for Statistics?" Kim asks casually coming up with something.

Abbie thinks for a moment before shaking her head. "Nuh uh. We were supposed to read section one of chapter twenty three out of the book, but I doubt that anyone did."

"Hmm…okay thanks."

Abbie nods and turns to Serena who is gazing up at her with a far out, lost expression. The other girls at the table snicker quietly.

"Hey Serena." Abbie says smiling.

"H-hey….um…hi…yeah…um…hello…" Serena stutters miserably, succeeding in making her self blush even more.

Abbie chuckles at the blondes nerves getting the best of her. "I'll see you guys later." She says to the rest of the table before leaving to join her friends.

As soon as Abbie is a safe enough distance away, the rest of the table bursts into hysteric laughter.

"Hi uh, hey, um, hello, uhh" Connie repeats, earning a glare from Serena.

"And you said you don't swoon." Amanda states, shaking her head.

Serena's scowl deepens and she folds her arms tightly. "Shut up…I don't swoon."

"You were kind of swooning Serena, it was actually super adorable." Alex says, trying to hold in her laughter.

"It really was. I just love being right." Kim says sighing happily, feeling exceptionally proud of herself.

As they begin talking again, Alex glances around the courtyard, and finds the same redheaded girl from her physics class sitting at a secluded table by herself.

"Hey, how come she's over there by herself?" she asks the table curiously.

Amanda leans over and follows Alex's line of vision. "Oh, Casey? Yeah she always sits by herself. She doesn't talk to anyone, so I don't really think she has any friends."

"Yeah, no one really knows her or anything. She doesn't talk." Connie adds in.

"So, no one like invites her to sit with them or anything?" Alex asks once again.

"She doesn't talk to anyone." Kim says. "Maybe she just doesn't like being around people."

Alex stays silent for a moment before she slides off of the bench and starts making her way towards the secluded table. She isn't sure why she's approaching a stranger like this, but she just wants to know why the girl sits by herself.

She sits on the bench across from the girl who is absent mindedly flipping through a book that looks like it has pages torn out of it.

"Uh…hi…" Alex says awkwardly. Not really knowing what else to say.

Casey looks up from her book, wondering who would actually take the time to want to talk to her. In front of her, she finds the girl that she's seen on the television a number of times whenever the president it giving some speech or something.

"H-hi…" she stutters in response.

"How come you sit over here all by yourself?" Alex asks curiously.

Casey shrugs her shoulders and looks back down at her ruined book that she can't finish.

Alex sits in silence for a moment before she thinks of something else to say. "Don't you want to sit with your friends?"

'I don't have friends.' Casey thinks, but decides that it's best to say nothing at all.

"Okay….so you don't seem like much of a talker…"

Casey shrugs again, still not looking up to make eye contact with the gorgeous blonde in front of her.

Alex is about to say something when she hears her name behind her. She turns around to see Serena and the others standing and waving her over. She holds up one finger telling them to wait before she turns back to Casey.

"I have to go now…but maybe I'll see you around?" she says, even though it's more of a question.

Casey chooses not to respond as Alex slowly stands from the seat and makes her way back over to the group of girls. She sighs heavily, wondering what the hell the president's daughter would want to talk to her for, and why the hell does she have to be so damn pretty?

**Yeahhhh I kinda made Abbie a little mean in this one…sorry bout that…This is going to be interesting…leave a review? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry, I didn't get this out earlier. Issues came up, again. Life is really hitting me hard right now guys. Anyway, here's another chapter, hope you guys like it. **

**But before we start some things I wanna address. **

**Madds21: You don't have anything to worry about. I had no intentions of doing that. I don't believe in mixing AO and AC in the same story for that reason and that reason alone. While I do enjoy to write AO stories, those stories are completely separate on my profile and will have nothing to do with any of my AC stories. **

**And to the guest who keeps saying they're getting 'A walk to remember' feel on this story. I have never seen 'A Walk to Remember' and before I looked it up I couldn't have told you if it was a book, or screenplay or a movie or what. So, that will most definitely not be my intentions for this story. Guess it's just a weird coincidence. **

**I'm done running my mouth now. Hope you guys enjoy. **

As the final bell rings for the end of the school day, Casey hangs back in her last class period as all of the other students quickly file out of the building. She waits a few minutes before she pokes her head out of the classroom, checking to make sure the halls are empty.

Getting her confirmation, Casey the leaves the class room and speedily walks through the school towards her locker, occasionally glancing over her shoulder every now and again.

She gets to her locker and switches out her textbooks for the ones that she knows she needs to take home, and the ones that she can get away with leaving at school for the day. Once again glancing around, she clutches her textbooks tightly and then goes to make her way out of the school.

As she walks past a window, Casey heaves a great sigh of relief when she realizes that Abbie is on the field at soccer practice. It saves for a lot of unnecessary trouble on her way home.

She relaxes a little and exits the building, squinting at the attack of the sun on her eyes after a really long day. And she wonders why she can't see worth a damn.

On her way to the bus stop, Casey can't help but think of her encounter with Alex earlier. Usually people just don't approach her and talk to her like that; especially not if they're the daughter of the president.

She wonders why Alex is at their school if she's practically America's Princess. Shouldn't she be in some high end school, let alone be home schooled? It just doesn't make any sense. But who is she to question where the president wants to send his daughter.

About ten minutes later, the bus comes and Casey is on her way home where she will begin the daily task of toggling between doing her homework and tending to her younger sisters.

The bus ride is easy and she gazes at the numerous buildings and people that plague the city whenever she gets out of the school. The bus drives by the White House and she can't help but think that she actually met the girl who lives there. She wonders what it's like inside.

After probably a fifteen minute bus ride, Casey gets off at her stop and makes the three block walk to her house. By the time she gets there she's usually pretty tired, and today is no different.

She fiddles in her pockets for key house key before she locates it and inserts into the keyhole to let her self in. Inside her house, she's not surprised that she can hear the feint argument between her eleven year old sister Lindsey and her seven year old sister Hanna.

"Buenos tardes Cassandra." The babysitter Mrs. Martinez says as Casey steps into the living room.

"Buenos tardes Mrs. Martinez." Casey replies, taking note of her sleeping youngest sister Cassie napping on a pillow next to the older woman. She can't explain how thankful she is that Mrs. Martinez watches her sisters until she gets home. With out her, she isn't sure what her mother would do.

"Ay, the little one. She went right to sleep." the babysitter says quietly standing up from the couch. "And the others; they fight constantly fight. I know not what to do with them. Your mama must have a headache always."

Casey smiles shyly and nods her head. "Yeah, she really does. But, I've kinda gotten used to their arguing"

"Ay I just let them fight…." Mrs. Martinez pauses a moment examining the teen in front of her. "You're getting so tall Cassandra. But why do you look so sad?"

Casey shakes her head and plasters a fake, yet convincing smile across her face. "I'm not sad Mrs. Martinez, I'm just tired." She lies.

Mrs. Martinez eyes her carefully for a moment before she decides it's best that she doesn't press on the subject.

"If you say so, but I can tell when I child is lying to me, but I know how you teens can be, hiding things from us adults. I hope you have a good rest of your day, and tell your mama to try and get some rest. She works way too hard.

"I will. Thank you again." Casey says bidding the babysitter good day before she leaves.

Casey sighs and moves back into the living room, where Cassie is beginning to stir from her nap.

"Hey kiddo. Did you have a good nap?" she asks softly as Cassie sits up, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

"I'm still sleepy." The five year old responds yawning greatly. She finishes her yawn and blinks a few times before she slumps against her sister.

Casey smoothes her sisters air and sits in silence for a few minutes before her other two sisters coming racing down the stairs.

"It's about time you got here." Lindsey says plopping down in an arm chair. "We thought you got lost."

"You know how long it takes me to get home. This is nothing new." Casey responds flatly.

"Case, what's for dinner, I'm hungry, and when's Mom gonna get home?" Hanna asks bouncing on the couch.

Casey sighs and removes her glasses, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know Han, I haven't looked, but it's probably going to be chicken nuggets because that's what we have. And Mom will get home when she gets home…"

"But Caaaaaseeeeeeey, we had chicken nuggets yesterday. I don't want that." Cassie whines, kicking her feet against the couch.

Casey sighs again, as her three sisters start to complain as one. "Guys seriously, I can only make what we have, and between the three of you, I probably won't even get any…it's what we have."

Her sisters all fall silent but still continue to pout and there is not doubt in Casey's mind that they are continuing to complain in their heads.

She glances at her watch and stands up from the couch. "How about I'll just make you guys a snack until dinner time, that way you won't be as hungry?"

"Yeah, snacks!" Cassie says beginning to bounce excitedly once again.

"As long as it's not anything related to peanut butter I'm fine." Lindsey mumbles feeling entirely sick of peanut butter.

Casey pauses on her way to the kitchen and concludes that Lindsey just won't get any of the snacks then. As she begins to make her way to the pantry, she stops and pokes her head out of the kitchen.

"If I told you guys that I met the president's daughter today, would you believe me?" she asks curiously.

Lindsey and Hanna look at each other for a moment before they both burst into hysteric laughter.

At this Casey rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Guess not."

At least at home she can say that she's mildly happy about something as opposed to the utter loser she feels like at school. She wonders if kids knew everything that she had to go through at home, would they still be as mean to her.

* * *

**The Next Day **

"So, you mean to tell me, that you think that you're starting to like coming here? Say it isn't so!" Eliza says sarcastically as she walks Alex to lunch due to an absent Serena.

Alex rolls her eyes and playfully shoves the agent. "Whatever. I think I'll get used to it. Don't tell my dad, but I think I like this whole 'be around people' thing. It's…new." She pauses when she sees Eliza roll her eyes at her comment. "Love you too Liza."

"I must really love my job to risk my life in a high school for the president's kid. Aren't I lucky." Eliza mumbles sarcastically.

This time it's Alex's turn to roll her eyes and she shoves the agent once again. "You're such a loser. Go play with your friends while I'm at lunch. I don't want you to embarrass me."

"Me embarrass you? Nah kid, you've got it wrong. If anything you're the one that's cramping my style. I'm a bad ass Secret Service Agent. What are you? A snot nosed teenager."

"Bye Liza." Alex says in a sing song voice as she goes to sit with her new friends. Yes, shocking, she thinks that she's actually going to consider them friends.

"Wish I had super cool body guards following me around all day." Amanda says in an imaginative voice.

Alex makes a face and shakes her head. "No you don't. You feel weird because they even wait outside of the bathroom for you. If they're like this for me, I can't even begin to imagine how my dad feels."

The girls begin talking about classes, things on the internet and other random things that there is to talk about. Strangely enough, Alex finds her self fitting in perfectly.

* * *

Casey is walking to her usual secluded table in the farthest corner of the courtyard. She is dead set on getting there when her foot catches on something and she falls roughly on the ground sending her glasses flying off her face.

She hears laughter of numerous people above her but she's more focused on finding her glasses, which is really hard to do seeing as she feels like she can't see an inch clearly in front of her face.

Blinking hard as if it will make her see better, Casey feels around on the ground for her glasses which she can't seem to find.

"Awwwww, bookworm can't see?" Olivia snickers, holding Casey's glasses in her hand.

Casey sighs as she realizes where her glasses went, and that her attempts to get them back are going to be completely futile. She stands up and tries to find Olivia with her glasses only to have Abbie trip of once again causing her to fall down.

"Careful Liv, you don't wanna break those. Those are probably the only ones she can afford." Abbie snarks.

Casey feels the heat rush to her face and she stares a the blurry around she's sitting on.

"Yeah you're probably right." Olivia agrees tossing Casey's glasses on the ground. "I mean, look at how she dresses?"

"What does your Mom do Casey, go thrift shopping?" Abbie snickers, causing the formatting circle of students to laugh.

Casey slips on her glasses and shakily stands to her feet. She wraps her arms around herself, suddenly feeling completely uncomfortable with Abbie talking about her clothes.

"Oh, so she does go thrift shopping?" Abbie says taking Casey's silence as an answer to her rhetorical question.

Casey quickly shakes her head but averts her gaze to the ground. "No, she doesn't shop at the thrift store."

"So how do you explain those clothes then? Or how about how poor and pathetic you are?" the taller brunette snarks bitterly.

"W-we…there's four of us, and just my mom…she tries…she tries really hard." Casey says sadly. It's one thing when people attack her personally, but it's a totally different story when they start mocking her family life style.

"Tries hard to what? Get crappy clothes for her kids? I'm pretty sure if I sold two of my text books I would be able to buy your entire wardrobe."

"T-there's nothing wrong with my clothes…" Casey whispers, trying to convince herself, more than she's trying to convince the people around her. "She's trying…"

"So what, do you have to take care of your sisters when you get home? I bet you have the same thing for dinner every night because you can't afford anything else."

Casey blushes furiously and she feels tears spring to her eyes as the other kids laugh at each and every one of Olivia and Abbie's comments. To make matters worse, it hurts because most of them are true.

No her mom doesn't go thrift shopping for their clothes or anything, but still aren't as nice as probably everyone else's in the school. They don't have a lot of money to spend which means their weekly options on dinner are always extremely limited between the five people in the house.

Casey stares at the ground intently as her tears make themselves visible and they begin making the shameful decent down her face.

"Aw, you gonna cry again?" Abbie coos teasingly. "Look, she is gonna cry again!"

Seeing that there isn't really anywhere for her to go due to the circle of laughing people surrounding her, Casey plops back down on the ground and cries into her hands from the shame and embarrassment.

"What's going on over there?" Amanda asks noticing a large circle on the opposite side of the courtyard.

"I dunno, let's go see." Kim says standing up from the table, leading the way over to the circle. They push their way through, only to find Abbie tormenting a sobbing Casey.

"Come on Abbie, step off, the girl is already crying." Connie says to the taller girl.

Abbie tears her gaze away from Casey and stares at the new group of four in the circle. Honestly, some people just gotta ruin all the fun.

"Why are you four here? How about you go back and mind your business." Olivia says, becoming angry at the intruders.

"How about you go find something else to do other than be Abbie bitch, Benson." Amanda states firmly, showing her dislike for the shorter brunette.

Olivia grits her teeth and starts towards Amanda, only to have Abbie firmly grasp her wrist, holding her back.

"She's not worth it Liv, I promise. C'mon, lets get outta here." Abbie says glaring at the other girls for a moment before she and the rest of her friends make their way over to their usual table.

The crowd deteriorates, leaving a sniffling Casey sitting on the ground, thanking god that her utter humiliation is finally over.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alex says softly, crouching next to the girl on the ground.

Casey wipes her eyes and nods her head slowly, not feeling like she's really worthy enough to be talking to someone like Alex.

"Here, let me help you up." the blonde says offering her hand.

Casey hesitates for a moment before she slowly takes Alex's hand and allows her to help her to her feet.

"My name is Alex by the way." Alex says smiling, trying to coax the other girl in to talking.

Casey nods and averts her eyes to the ground, suddenly becoming more interested in her shoes. "Y-yeah….I-I know…I've seen enough political events to kind of have an idea of who you are…" she says lamely.

Alex smiles nervously and runs her fingers through her hair. "I…yeah…I guess that would make a lot of sense. What's your name?" she asks. Of course she already knows the girl's name from other people, she just wants to see if Casey will introduce her self.

"I'm…Casey." The redhead says quietly, suddenly becoming uncomfortable with talking to another person.

"Well, do you wanna come sit with me and my friends? You kind sit over there all by yourself, and I'm sure they won't mind." Alex offers nicely.

Casey shakes her head as she continues to stare at the ground. "N-no…that's okay, I'm okay with sitting by myself." '_They wouldn't want me over there anyway.' _

"Why? Like I said, they won't mind, and you don't have to sit all by yourself."

"It's okay…"

Alex pauses and purses her lips at Casey persistence. "Fine, then I'll come sit with you."

Casey eyes widen and she shakes her head again. "Really…It's okay. I-I…I like sitting by myself." _'It gives people a less chance to pick on me. To laugh about my clothes, or my family, or anything else that's wrong with me.' _

"But why? You look lonely." Alex presses on. She's usually considered a friendly person, and the reason she takes such an interest in the girl is because she just wants to figure out why she's such a loner. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her, and she looks like a generally good person, so why are people so mean? Oh how she wishes that Serena wasn't absent so she could of seen how horrible of a bitch Abbie way being just a few minutes ago.

"I'm not lonely…I just…like it." Casey lies miserably.

"But you sit alone in every class don't you. I have three classes with you and in every one of them you sit by yourself. You've got to be lonely." Alex responds.

"Y-you should get back to your friends….they're probably waiting for you…" Casey says quietly after a pause. She then chooses to reside to her usual secluded table in the corner.

Alex sighs irritably as she reluctantly makes her way back over to her friends. She's not sure what it is, but she feels like Casey really just needs a friend. Being the kind hearted person that she naturally is, Alex is determined to offer that.

**Damn. That's some cruel stuff right there man…Leave a review? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Damn, this chapter is long! Don't know how that happened. Anyway, hope you guys like it. Don't worry, we're working our way up to those Alex/Casey moments we all know and love :) **

"I just don't see what Serena sees in her. She is a complete ass about pretty much everything." Kim rants as she and Alex walk into their Psychology class.

Alex nods her head as she slips into her chair next to the brunette. "I think I asked myself the same question. I mean, I'm not going to lie, Abbie is attractive, but her attitude is horrible."

"It's cuz she has money; that's all. Abbie is the true definition of spoiled rich brat."

"Serena told me that you told her that Abbie wanted to ask her out…"

Kim leans back in her chair and nods. "Yeah, I was hanging around after school and I heard her talking to a few of the soccer girls about it. I told Serena, but I think she over looked me telling her as a warning, rather than me just telling her to get her excited. She has a hard time listening sometimes."

Alex nods again and taps her pen on her notebook. "Obviously. Just wish she was here today so she could see how much a bitch Abbie was being." She says glancing out of the corner of her eye at Casey who is sitting in her usual spot in the corner.

Kim shrugs and they both turn to listen to the teacher who is going on about some random ass project they're going to be starting today.

"This will be an in class project." The teacher says handing out the packets to the students. "You must work with no more than for people, and you cannot do this by yourself. I will give you two minutes to sort out your groups, and then you can all begin reading the directions."

The is a mass noise of scraping chairs and talking as people move around the room to settle in to their groups to begin talking about the project they have just received. Alex and Kim are about to start reading the instructions when Alex glances over her shoulder once again, to see Casey who hasn't even moved out of her desk.

"We should ask her to join our group." Alex says to the brunette, not wanting to exclude the shy girl in the corner.

Kim cranes her neck to see the redhead in the corner who is sadly slumping in her chair with out anyone to work with.

"Hey Casey, come here." Kim calls out, waving the shy girl over to their table.

Casey swallows thickly and slowly makes her way over to where Alex and Kim are sitting with the assignment.

"You can be in our group if you want." Alex says pulling up a chair next to her.

Casey hesitates for a moment before she sits in the chair. She has never really been invited to work with someone before, and the gesture actually thoroughly surprises her.

"So why don't you ever really talk to anyone?" Alex asks once they've started working on the project.

Casey shrugs and continues to do what they're supposed to do. She isn't really much of a talker, and at the moment, she really doesn't know what to say to the two girls. To say that she's intimidated would be a complete understatement.

"You know, you can come and sit with us at lunch if you want to so you don't have to be by yourself." Kim says, trying to make the silent teen feel welcomed.

"I really don't mind being by myself…it's easier." Casey says quietly as she begins to doodle random shapes on her paper.

"Easier…?" Kim and Alex question in unison.

Casey nods her head. "Yeah…If I'm by myself, people can't pick on me, or make fun of me. I just…it's easier."

"Why are kids so mean to you?" Alex asks curiously. She can't physically see any valid reason of why people are horrible to Casey. She seems like she can be a nice person.

Casey shrugs, and still refuses to make eye contact with the girls sitting before her. "I don't know…I guess because I'm different? I'm not as…privileged as everyone else…it gives them a reason to pick on me, or just ignore me."

"You shouldn't let Abbie pick on you like that though…" Alex responds quietly. "What she does to you is horrible."

Casey shrugs again and shakes her head. "I…get used to it. It's really not that big of a deal. We should really not talk about this anymore and just work on the project."

Kim and Alex exchange a look, but silently take the hint that Casey no longer wishes to be the topic of conversation. They vow to discuss it later.

**Later**

Alex and Kim are exiting the school where they run in to Serena who is trying and failing to hide the fact that she is enjoying Abbie flirting with her.

Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head, while Kim makes a silent gagging sound as they approach the chatting duo.

"Hi guys!" Serena says excitedly waving to her two friends while Abbie turns around and narrows her eyes at the unwelcome new comers in her conversation.

"Hey…where were you all day?" Alex asks, trying to ignore the silent glare battle that Kim and Abbie are having with each other.

"I had a dentist's appointment. I came right after lunch, and I just didn't see the two of you. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Oh you know…the usual. People hanging out…being assholes." Kim mutters, earning her a sharp elbow in the ribs from Alex.

Abbie narrows her eyes at the snarky brunette but decides against responding to the comment. Instead she plasters a smile across her face and turns back to Serena. "Hey, I have to go. But I'll see you later, right?"

Serna nods and grins as Abbie walks off. She stares after the taller girl for a moment before she turns back to her friends and sighs dreamily.

"Isn't she just amazing?"

Kim snorts which turns into coughing, while Alex just mutters incoherent words. Serena tilts her head for a moment but shrugs it off, still not coming down from her Abbie high.

The three girls have engaged in to a light conversation, when a black SUV pulls up, followed by a sleek black limo sporting the presidential seal, and another SUV. Alex turns her head just as the driver of the limo gets out and opens the door for her.

"I have to go, I'll see you guys tomorrow." She says, as her friends gawk at her means of transportation. She laughs and shakes her head as she makes her way over to the car.

"I really do wish that was my life." Kim says as the three vehicles pull out of the parking lot and disappear down the street.

"I think we all wish that was our lives…" Serena adds on. "So anyway, do you wanna here how Abbie asked me to be her girlfriend?"

Kim makes a face and shakes her head. "Not really…"

However, Serena's smile doesn't falter a bit. "Oh…well too bad! You see what happened was…"

* * *

Alex hums to her self as she stares out the window of the passing city. She giggles to herself at how persistent her dad is being about her protection, and he's even letting her use one of the limousines. The limo she doesn't mind, but the numerous Secret Service agents she could probably do without.

They are slowing to a stop at a traffic light, when she glances out the window where she sees a familiar redhead standing at the bus stop. A sudden thought crosses her mind, and she leans forward towards Edward, the driver.

"Hey Eddie, pull over." Alex says to the man behind thee wheel.

Edward makes a face and glances at Alex in the rearview mirror. "Miss Cabot, can I ask why exactly you would like me to pull over?" he questions curiously.

"Because I see someone that I know." Alex replies blandly.

"I'm not sure if I'm authorized to do this…" Edwards mumbles as he pulls the car over towards the sidewalk.

"You are authorized to do what my father tells you to, and he told you to do what I tell you to, so I am pretty sure that you are authorized to pull over this car when I ask…" Alex says, not really in the mood to argue with the well mannered driver.

Edward sighs and shakes his head. "Of course Miss Cabot…" he mumbles and radios in to the SUV in front of them, letting the agents inside know that they've pulled over. "When did it start coming to me being bosses around by a sixteen year old."

Alex gets out of the limo and tries to ignore the gawking people around her, fumbling to pull out their phones to take pictures of her, the mini motorcade, or both.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Eliza questions, getting out of one of the SUVs.

Alex rolls her eyes and waves off the agent as she approaches Casey who has just now noticed her presence.

"Hey Casey." The blonde says nicely, not wanting to scare the girl off.

Casey swallows thickly, and tries to keep her hands from shaking with nerves. "Uh…um…hi…" she says quietly, averting her eyes to the ground.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Alex asks, curiously.

Casey shrugs and shuffles her feet a little. "Waiting for the bus…it's how I get home."

Alex makes a face at the thought of the bus. "The city bus? Ewwww…come on, I can take you home. That way we can talk."

Casey feels her throat go dry, and she hugs her books tighter. "T-talk?"

"Yeah, you know…talk…" Alex says slowly. "So we can maybe become friends…?"

Casey swallows the huge bag of sand in her throat at the word 'friends', simply because she knows that she doesn't have any.

"That…y-you don't have to…I'm fine waiting for the bus…" she mumbles quietly, not wanting to cause any kind of burden.

On the contrary, Alex is having none of it. She grabs Casey's wrist and starts pulling her towards her waiting limousine.

"Nuh uh, it's totally fine. Edward won't mind, and you won't have to wait for the crummy bus. C'mon." she says as she gets in to the car, and slides over to the seat on the opposite side of the car.

Casey hesitates for a moment before she follows Alex and pulls the door shut behind her, settling into the surprisingly comfortable seats of the limo.

"Hey Eddie, this is my friend Casey Novak. Casey, this is Edward, he's the driver." Alex says, introducing Casey to the man behind the wheel.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Novak." Edward says politely turning around in his seat, shaking Casey's hand through the interior reinforced window. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your address, so that I may get you to the proper destination?"

Casey quietly rattles off her street address in which Edward puts it into the GPS system of the car. Not two minutes later, they're pulling back on to the street and away from the crowd that Alex had unintentionally drawn.

"So, how was the rest of your day?" Alex asks, turning to face Casey.

Casey shrinks a little and starts fiddling with her fingers. "It…was okay I guess." She lies, hoping that Alex will let it go.

Alex shakes her head and folds her arms. "You know, I'm a really good listener…you can tell me about it…is it Abbie?"

Casey shrugs and continues to stare at her wringing hands. This response, however, gives Alex all the answer that she needs. She just isn't sure if she should try to dig any deeper.

"What she said to you at lunch horrible, even if I didn't hear all of it. Has she always picked on you like that?" the blonde teen asks softly.

Casey waits for a moment before she slowly nods her head. Should would be lying if she said that she can remember exactly when Abbie or anyone else for the matter starting picking on her. It's happened for so long it's all just kind of melded together.

"You should sit with me and my friends tomorrow at lunch. They really won't mind…" Alex says, praying that she'll get some sort of answer from the shy teen next to her.

Casey shakes her head and hugs her books closer to her once more. "I don't know…I don't think that they really want me there."

"Are you kidding? I don't think they're like that. I mean, they let me sit with them, and I'm still kind of the new kid."

"You're also the president's daughter…they can't really say no to you…"

Alex sighs and runs her hands through her hair. "That's not the point. The point is, that I think you should sit with us so you won't have to sit by yourself anymore. Just sit with us for one day, and then if you don't like it, you don't have to anymore. Deal?"

Casey hesitates for a moment before a small smile spreads across her lips and she nods her head. She really is flattered that Alex of all people is actually interested in talking to her, and actually trying to make friends with her.

"Great!" Alex says excitedly, trying to hold in her triumph at getting Casey to agree to interact with some people.

"So um…this is my house…" Casey says as they come to a stop in front of her home. "Thanks for bringing me home."

"No problem, like I said, Eddie doesn't mind. He has to do what is say anyway." Alex says shrugging.

"I heard that Miss Cabot…" Edward calls into the back seat.

"Well it's true Edward." Alex answers back, causing Casey to laugh quietly. "So I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you have a good rest of your afternoon!"

"You too…thanks…again." Casey says as she exits the car, and makes her way up to her house. She watches as the motorcade carrying the presidential daughter pulls away from her house, and disappears down the street.

After she steps inside, she walks past the kitchen, thoroughly surprised to see that her mother is home so early. She lingers in the kitchen doorway for a moment and watches as her mother is seated at the kitchen table surrounded by various papers.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

Charlotte Novak looks up from where her head was resting in her hands, and smiles at her oldest daughter.

"Hi honey…I was actually expecting you a little later. Was the bus early?" The elder redhead asks curiously.

Casey chews her lip and contemplates her next answer very carefully. Maybe she'll save the explanation of riding with the president's daughter for a later day, so she just simply nods her head at her mother's question.

"Yeah, it was…a little early but I made it. Why are you home so early?" she asks, taking a seat at one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

Charlotte sighs and runs a tired hand through her hair. "I lost my job today Casey…"

Casey's eyes widen and she blinks several times at what her mother has just told her. "What…? Why? What happened?"

Charlotte sighs again and leans back in her chair. "Lay offs, budget cuts, everything like that. I was just unfortunately one of the teachers they let go. I don't know what we're going to do now Casey…"

"Can't you…find another teaching job until then?"

"It isn't that easy, and what are we going to do until then? I just…I don't know what we're going to do sweetheart."

Casey sighs herself and slumps down into her chair. Her mother is now a single mom raising four girls with out a job. It's no secret that all of their lives are about to get so much harder.

* * *

**The Next Day **

Casey swallows the lump in her throat as she makes her way outside and into the courtyard where most of the upperclassmen who stay on campus hang out for lunch. She sees Kim, Alex, and the rest of their group minus Serena, sitting at a table, laughing about something in their conversation.

"This is it…no turning back…" she mumbles as she makes her way over to the table of girls that Alex says are very friendly. She holds her breath as she reaches the table, and all the girls turn their attention to her. "Um…can…can I sit here?"

Amanda and Connie exchange looks, but slide over none the less, to make room for Casey on the bench. They raise their eyebrows at their two beaming friends across the table, wondering if they've had something to do with actually getting Casey to interact with human beings.

"So, Casey, I see that you like to read a lot. What kind of books do you like?" Kim asks, trying to end the silence, for fear that it would scare the redhead away.

Casey shrugs her shoulders and absentmindedly traces the patterns on the table. "Anything really. I really like science fiction books though. I was reading this really good one the other day until…it was ruined…"

"Oh…that sucks…" Alex says, recalling the torn up book that Casey was flipping through the first time they technically actually spoke to each other.

"What's your favorite color?" Amanda asks curiously, as if that is one question that needs to be asked.

"Um…I don't really know actually. I like blue, but I also really like purple." Casey says, not exactly sure on her favorite color.

"Eeeeeeee I like purple! It is the best color ever! It should definitely be your favorite." Connie says excitedly.

"You'll have to forgive Connie…she gets over excited about some things." Kim says sticking her tongue out at the other brunette.

Connie returns the gesture and rolls her eyes. "Whatever, Greyleck, you just wish you were as awesome as me." she responds.

Alex watches as Casey laughs at the exchange between friends. She hasn't exactly seen Casey laugh at anything and it's kind of nice to see a smile on a sad face.

"What kind of movies do you like?" Alex asks, trying to get Casey comfortable with speaking about herself.

Casey's face contorts into deep thought as she tries to come up with something. "Um…I don't really know that either. I mean, I like a lot of really weird movies. I know one of my favorite movies is Contagion."

Amanda gasps and makes a face at the revelation. "Oh my god, I've seen that! That movie was so weird!"

"Was that the movie about the disease that killed like a huge chunk of the world?" Kim asks wanting clarification at which Casey nods her head.

"I think that I saw that. It had Gwyneth Paltrow in it right?" Alex asks, suddenly recalling the thriller movie.

Casey nods her head, suddenly becoming excited at remember one of her favorite movies. "Yeah! The movie it self was really interesting as well. It showed how a series of events led to a mass pandemic around the world and it all originated from one thing. It all started out with one woman having it and it soon spread to everyone else. It was intriguing to see how just by simply touching the same surface as a sick person you could become infected. While the tone of the movie was very disastrous, I still think it was very interesting."

"It was a pretty cool movie." Alex says simply. "I bet that would be pretty scary, and it's real scary to think about. That just by simply touching something, you would get the contagion."

"Well, I'm sure that if it were real, Serena would most definitely have it by now." Connie states making a face as she stares at something behind the other girls.

Alex and Kim turn around while Amanda and Casey lean over to find Serena making out with Abbie in a far corner of the courtyard. All girls shudder and make faces in unison.

"That's gross…" Alex mutters turning back around to face her friends once again.

"It really is…I'm not one that usual favors viewing public displays off affection." Amanda says shaking her head. "I didn't even know they were…a thing."

"Yeah, for like…a day and a half." Kim says rolling her eyes in disapproval. "Told Serena not to fall for that, but you know she doesn't listen. I bet they're only going out because Abbie wants to get in her pants."

Alex raises her eyebrows and turns to the brunette on her right. "What? You mean, Abbie's like…had sex before?" she asks in shock.

The rest of the girls at the table snort and actually burst into complete laughter. Even Casey cracks quite a large smile at Alex's confusion.

"Duh, it's no secret that she's had sex before. Wouldn't surprise me if she's fucked half the soccer team." Connie says shaking her head.

"I walked in the bathroom once and she had her hand up Laurie Reynolds's skirt." Casey says shaking the image away from her brain. "It wasn't particularly pleasant."

"Shouldn't someone warn Serena?" Alex asks, risking the glance over her shoulder once again.

Amanda snorts at the comment as if it were ridiculous to begin with. "Please, Serena knows this; she's just to ditzy and oblivious to address it. Plus, she doesn't listen. It's all in her hands. If she wants to give up her card to that bitch, then that's her decision. We all have told her not to go out with Abbie."

Alex shakes her head and turns back around once again. "That's horrible. Oh! So, I talked to my dad, and he said that I could have some friends sleep over this weekend, if you guys can come…"

All of the girls sit in complete silence and stare at Alex as if she had just asked them how to cure cancer and the common cold.

"You mean…at your house…?" Connie says slowly.

"Uh…yeah, at my house…." Alex responds, already knowing where this is going.

"You mean…your house…which is the White House…?" Amanda adds on.

"Yes, my house which is the White House…"

"You mean…your house…which is the White House…where the president lives…?"

"Oh my god yes! Where the president lives! Gosh, it's really not that big of a deal!" Alex exclaims, exasperatedly slumping on the bench.

"Well, sorry if we don't get invited to the White House that often…" Kim says sarcastically. "That would be totally awesome. I've always wanted to go."

Alex rolls her eyes but still grins at her friends. "Whatever…but yeah, you guys can sleepover, if you guys don't mind going through all the security clearance...and that means you too Casey." Alex adds on, not wanting the shy girl to think that the offer only extends to the others at the table.

Casey smiles and blushes greatly. She has never been invited anywhere before and here she is, being invited to the White House, by the president's daughter. She just hopes that what with everything going on, her mother will still be in a good enough mood to allow her to go.

**Oh my god guys I just saw Contagion for the first time like…today. That's why I used it. Have any of you seen it? Ugh it freaked me out, and now I am legitimately paranoid about touching anything. I mean, I already had issues but now I'm just like...ugh!**

**Anyway, I think I am slowly adjusting to this mean Abbie persona. I don't know why, but I must guilty admit it's strange yet oddly exciting to write. And you guys thought she was mean in the third chapter. Ha! Lol, leave a review? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter also turned out longer than expected…sorry it wasn't published sooner, but I think I kind of make up for it. Happy readings. **

Casey hums contently to herself as she comes down the stairs and walks into the living room. She can't stop thinking about the conversation she actually had with the other girls at lunch, and that she was actually invited to attend some sorta of social function. These types of things just don't happen to her.

She sees her mother sitting on the couch, flipping through several papers once again, and she doesn't quiet know how she's going to be able to ask her mother if she can go to Alex's sleepover, let alone try to convince her to let a go in the event that she says no.

"Hey, Mom can I ask you something?" Casey asks sitting on the couch next to her mother.

Charlotte puts down her papers and turns to her daughter smiling. "Oh course sweetheart."

Casey nervously averts her gaze down to her suddenly wringing hands. "Um…well, a friend is having a sleepover on Friday, and I was wondering if I could go…if we aren't doing anything."

Charlotte sits in silence for a minute as she analyzes her daughter's facial expression. She isn't sure that she actually remembers Casey asking for her permission to go to something, and it makes her wonder if it's ever happened at all."

"Uh…well, what's her name? Have I met her?" the elder redhead asks, not sure if she would know the girl anyone.

Casey shakes her head and still stares at her hand. "No, but her name is Alex Cabot…."

Charlotte once again sits in complete silence and stares at Casey with an expression that is a mixture of shock and confusion.

"When you say Alex Cabot do you mean Cabot as in…"

"She's the president's daughter…" Casey adds on.

"And she is going to your school?" her mother says confusedly.

"Yeah, I don't know why though. But she invited me and some other girls over. Can I go?"

"…do you really want to? I mean, I've never seen you actually mention…anyone like this, or wanting to go somewhere."

Casey blushes but shrugs off the comment. "Yeah I…I just…I think I want to go. Can I? I don't have to if you don't want me to. I can stay here and help you with the girls and everything else that you might need."

Charlotte chuckles and shakes her head at her eldest daughter's dedication to their family. Even if they don't have a lot, they still find a way to get by, even if it means having to literally take care of one another.

"Casey honey, if you really would like to go and play with your friends I am more than happy to allow you to do that. I would worry about never meeting these people, but I am pretty sure you will be in very good hands." She says nicely.

A wide smile spreads across Casey's face and she hops off of the couch in excitement. "Thanks, Mom, you're the best." She exclaims, happily giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.

Charlotte smiles and watches as her daughter happily disappears up the stairs. She's just glad that Casey has actually made what she can call 'friends'. It's good for her, and definitely something she needs; especially with the rough time they're going to go through.

**The End of The Week **

"So I'm totally glad that you guys can come over later, I'm really excited." Alex says as she and Kim walk to lunch seeing as she once again hasn't seen Serena all day.

"I'm excited to. It'll be fun hanging out. Hey, have you seen Serena? This is like the second day in a row she's been gone." Kim asks curiously as they make their way through the halls of shuffling students.

Alex shrugs her shoulders as they round another corner. "I was just about to ask you the same question. I mean, I think that I saw her this morning, but other than that. I haven't."

"Bet Abbie got her to skip class…she seriously, needs to fucking wake up." Kim mutters, shaking her head. "Is she going later?"

"Yeah, she said that she was. I don't know…maybe she's around here somewhere and we just haven't seen her."

Kim nods her head, and the two of them continue to walk down the hall. They are almost to the doors when they almost literally run into Amanda and Connie who look like they've done something.

"Why are you looking like at us like that?" Amanda says calming her breathing and grinning.

"Because the both of you look like the cat that ate the canary, what have you done?" Kim asks, eying her two friends curiously.

Connie and Amanda simply exchange looks at shrug their shoulders as if to say that they haven't done anything at all.

Alex snickers at the silent exchange between the three, and she wonders just what her two friends have gotten themselves in to that they aren't willing to share.

Moments later, Casey walks through the same door and up to the group of four with a worried look on her face.

"I just walked through the parking lot. Please tell me that the two of you have nothing to do with what just happened." The redhead says, staring at the two smug looking girls.

"We have no idea what you're talking about." Connie says putting her hands in the air innocently, all the while trying to hold in her laughter.

Alex shakes her head and walks around the group. "What ever it is, I hope it doesn't end up getting anyone killed." She says as they move towards the door.

Before anyone can even open it, a very angry looking Abbie storms in followed by Serena, Olivia, and a few other girls from the soccer team.

"Which one of you flatted my tires, and don't play stupid, because I know it was one of you." the brunette shouts angrily.

No one says anything and the action succeeds in making Abbie's anger rise. Her glare shifts to Alex and she takes a patronizing step towards the blonde.

"What are you smiling about, princess? Something funny to you?"

Alex takes a step back and shakes her head, not wanting to be involved in Abbie's temper tantrum, in any way.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. So I would appreciate it if you stepped off." Alex says firmly, determined not to let Abbie intimidate her.

Abbie steps closer once again, getting into Alex's personal space. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do if I don't? Call daddy and have him fight your own battles?" she says through grit teeth, her hand clenching into a tight fist.

Casey sees everything unfolding and she swallows thickly. She doesn't know why or what compels her to do so, but she steps in front of Alex, succeeding in putting a barrier between the blonde and Abbie.

"Leave her alone Abbie…she hasn't done anything to you." she says with as much confidence as she can muster, which in reality, probably isn't a whole lot.

Abbie raises her eyebrows and snickers at Casey, of all people, trying to defend someone. "Oh wow…I'm real scared now. Get a clue, because I'm most definitely not afraid of a poor nobody who doesn't matter. I don't have time for this. C'mon girls."

The still fuming athlete shoves Casey hard to the floor before she storms down the hall with Olivia and the rest of her team following her. Serena glances at her friends and shrugs before she hesitantly follows her girlfriend.

After everyone is sure that Abbie isn't going to come back for anything, Alex reaches down and helps Casey up to her feet.

"Are you okay?" she asks worriedly, taking note of how hard Casey fell.

Casey shrugs and rubs her slightly sore arm from her fall. "Yeah…it…happens often, I kind of have gotten used to her or anyone else shoving me around."

"Oh…well thanks for defending me…" Alex responds nicely causing Casey to blush the color of a tomato.

Kim raises her eyebrows at the exchange between the two, but refrains from saying anything about it. She actually has wondered why Alex has suddenly taken such an interest in the shy redhead, but it's something that she deems to bring up at a later date.

"So did you guys actually let the air out of her tires?" Alex asks turning back to Amanda and Connie who have begun a small conversation between themselves.

Amanda nods her head and shoves her hands in her pockets. "Yeah…it's kind of a long story why, but she said something and I wanted to get back at her. So Connie here suggested that we let the air out of her tires…it was actually pretty funny…except her pushing you like that Casey…sorry…"

Casey simply shrugs and begins wringing her hands nervously. She doesn't know why she got this fuzzy feeling whenever Alex thanked her but it's a feeling she knows she's never really felt before and it's almost slightly uncomfortable.

* * *

**Later **

"Did I really have to get sniffed by a dog?" Amanda mumbles as she and the rest of the girls follow Alex down a long corridor. They all can't help but gawk at all of their surroundings, none of them ever having been in the White House before.

"Yes…I told you, it's all security clearance. They want to make sure you guys aren't potential threats or whatever. Country rules, not mine." The blonde says shaking her head.

"So you like…live here, all the time?" Connie asks, still a little in shock from the massive size of the White House on the inside.

"No…she only vacations here…" Kim responds sarcastically causing Connie to roll her eyes.

"Yeah…it's me, my father, my mother, and my grandmother. But, my grandmother is away visiting family, and Mom and Dad had to be in Utah for something…I didn't exactly ask what for…I don't really care." Alex says nonchalantly.

Casey follows behind the group admiring in silence. She really does feel like she's out of place, being in such a place like this considering her family and economic status.

She wonders what it's like for Alex to constantly live in a place like this with powerful diplomatic parents and 24/7 protection against any kind of threats.

But at the same time, she wonders what kind of relationship that Alex has with her father. Is it the perfect one where he will do anything and everything for his little girl, or is it like the relationship that Casey has with her father…he just isn't there.

"This is my bedroom…" Alex says leading the girls into her room, laughing to herself as she sees the looks on all of their faces. She knows that it's only because they've come to the realization that her room is probably three and a half, if not four times the size of a normal bedroom.

"Oh my god…." Casey whispers wide eyed, just like everyone else.

"So yeah…I sleep here…" Alex says awkwardly not really knowing what else to say. She knows that this is bound to be a very interesting evening.

Once they've gotten settled, everyone can't help but notice how dangerously quiet Serena has been the whole time. Come to think of it, she hasn't said anything since school.

"So you're just gonna ignore us the whole time…" Kim says, becoming extremely agitated with Serena who hasn't said anything all afternoon.

The blonde shrugs and continues to text whoever it is she's so engrossed in conversation with on her phone.

"Serena you're being ridiculous." Alex states, wondering what exactly the problem is.

Amanda sighs exasperatedly and flops on the floor. "You really are. So we let the air out of her tires. Big deal."

"It was unnecessary, petty, and rude." Serena says firmly, finally tearing her eyes away from her phone.

"As if half of the things she does aren't. You shouldn't be dating her anyway." Connie mumbles.

Serena's eyes flare in anger and her mouth drops open in disbelief. "I can go out with who ever I want to. Abbie wants to be with me, and I want to be with her, so we are dating. You're probably just jealous anyway Connie."

"Guys let's not fight…" Casey says quietly, hating conflict in general.

"No, let her say what she has to say." Connie says, glaring hard at the frustrated blonde. "Tell me Serena? Why exactly am I jealous?"

"Maybe because I'm actually capable of dating someone? Because the most popular girl in school wants to go out with me, and not you? I think those are pretty valid reasons for you to be jealous." Serena shoots back, venomously.

"You guys really should stop…" Alex mumbles, only to have her suggestion fall on deaf ears.

Connie scoffs and laughs bitterly. "Oh yeah, I'm totally jealous because I'm not dating a girl who only wants me so she can have sex with me. Yeah, you caught me Serena, I'm _real _jealous…."

Serena blushes and crosses her arms tightly over her chest. "You're wrong…she doesn't want that from me. And it's not any of your business anyway. Why don't you just fuck off, and worry about your business and stay out of mine." And with that, she angrily storms into the large bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

The remaining five girls sit in complete silence wondering how long Serena plans on staying in the bathroom. Knowing her though, it could probably be all night.

"You really shouldn't have said that…" Kim says looking to Connie who simply shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't care. She was asking for it, and I don't feel bad about anything either." She responds simply. Oh yes, it is going to be a very long evening indeed.

**Later **

Later on into the evening, the girls have settled into a small circle on Alex's floor to talk about the things that teenaged girls talk about. One of their most interesting topics being talking about their first kisses, how old they were, and so on and so forth.

It isn't until they're laughing about something that Alex notices Casey's absence. She silently excuses herself from the giggling trio and makes her way across her bedroom and over to her balcony.

She steps out on to the patio balcony and finds Casey quietly leaning on the railing, glancing out at the view that they have over one of the large yards.

"Are you okay? You haven't really said much, and you're so quiet I didn't notice you left. What's up?" Alex asks, copying Casey by leaning on the railing.

Casey shrugs and shakes her head. "I'm always quiet. I just…don't really fit in well with anyone. Like, what you guys talk about and stuff…I just don't fit in."

"We can find something that you like to talk about. I'm sure there are a lot of things you like." The blonde says perkily.

Casey simply shrugs again, her gaze still transfixed on the yard. "I just…don't fit in. It's always been like that. No one really likes me, and I wouldn't say that I have any friends…"

"Hey, I like you. I think you're a nice person and I'm sure the other girls do too. And I can be your friend and I'm sure they will too. You are capable of having friend's Casey…it's not scary…"

"Yeah well…like I said two times already, I don't fit in. And having friends won't stop people from picking on me, and I'll still have glasses, and I'll still be that nerdy underprivileged girl that everyone laughs at because she can't afford the new latest designer Converse or whatever…Nothing will change that…"

Alex does say anything, and it actually hurts her a little at what Casey has to go through on a day to day basis. She just doesn't understand why kids have to be so cruel.

"So…tell me about your family then…" Alex says, wanting to know a little more about the shy redhead.

Casey sighs and runs her fingers through her hair not sure where to start. "Well…there are five people in my family; Me, my mom, and my three little sisters. My dad kind of walked out on my mom right after my youngest sister was born and he refuses to pay anything so we're kind of struggling. My mom also lost her job a few days ago so I don't really know what's going to happen at this point…"

Alex raises her eyebrows and she feels a tugging at her heart. "That's horrible…I'm so sorry…um…how old are your sisters?"

"Lindsey is eleven, Hanna is seven, and Cassie is five. They're all pretty much a handful, but I love them anyway." Casey says shrugging.

Alex nods her head and a small smile ghosts across her lips. "Wow…three little sisters…I guess I wouldn't understand since I'm an only child. I do wonder sometimes what it'd be like to have siblings. It gets kind of lonely here sometimes…"

"So do you just like…stay here? If so, that really does sound boring and lonely. You must not have a boyfriend or anything…not that you can't get a boyfriend, because you're like…super pretty but…because of your dad and…stuff." Casey stutters miserably, hoping that she isn't starting to blush.

Alex giggles at Casey's nerves, and she actually finds it kind of cute. "I understand what you're saying…no, I don't have a boyfriend, but I haven't really looked for one. I guess I'm just not interested in guys like that."

"So…you're interested in girls?"  
"I dunno…maybe. I just know that when Danny Lancaster kissed me when I was seven, I didn't exactly enjoy it or anything. Not only because seven is just an awkward age, but I guess I just didn't like it. Plus, girls are much more interesting to look at than guys…far prettier. Have you ever kissed anyone?"

Casey shakes her head vigorously at the question. "It's not really that big of a deal to me…but no, I haven't."

Alex's eyes widen and her mouth falls slightly agape. "You're kidding. But you're like…sixteen!"

Casey simply shrugs, trying to dismiss the subject. "Doesn't matter. It really doesn't surprise me that no one wants to kiss the dorky girl with glasses or anything. It's fine…"

"Haven't you ever wanted to kiss someone though? Just to see what it was like?" Alex asks curiously.

"I dunno….maybe…it's not really a…feeling I'm used to…" Casey responds awkwardly.

"But you've thought about it?"

"Sure…I don't know…I just…haven't actually done it."

Casey watches as Alex seems to be thinking long and hard about something. She swears that her heart stops completely when she sees Alex leaning closer to her, and seconds later, she feels a pair of soft lips on her own.

Completely unsure of what to do, Casey blinks awkwardly and finds herself completely unresponsive as Alex kisses her. It's a weird feeling that she has never felt before and she isn't exactly sure if she likes it or not.

Moments later, Alex pulls away and grins at a wide eyed, blushing Casey. "Well…now you can say that you have kissed someone." She says winking before walking back into her bedroom.

Casey stands stock still and she isn't sure if she's even breathing at all. She just knows that she's seeing stars and there is this weird tingly feeling on her lips from where Alex's lips where just moments before.

_'Alexandra Cabot just fucking kissed me…The president's daughter just kissed me…ME...Holy Fuck…'_

**Awww ain't that cute….Lol, leave a review? **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Guys, I'm really trying and I'm super sorry that this is long over due. A lot of conflicting emotional situations have hit at once, and I just haven't had time to get this out. I'm sorry that it might be a little less than up to par but I hope you guys like it anyway. **

Alex saunters back into her bedroom only to be met with a very smug looking Kim Greyleck. She flushes a little as the brunette's dark eyes bore into her accompanied by a well satisfied smirk.

"What?" Alex mutters sitting next to Kim on the floor.

"You know what." Kim replies smugly, her grin widening when she sees Alex's blush deepen. She knows that she could very well play off that she saw Alex kissing Casey outside just a few minutes ago, but then again, what fun would that be?

"I'm afraid that I don't." Alex mumbles, praying that the coloration in her face with disappear. She doesn't need anymore confirmation that Kim most likely saw them, but that doesn't mean she has to admit to it.

She isn't exactly why she had kissed Casey in the first place. In her head, she keeps telling herself that she did it just because the redhead had said she hadn't kissed anyone, but in her heart, Alex knows it's more.

Another thing that Alex isn't sure about is her attraction to Casey. She has absolutely no idea of why she feels oddly drawn to the shy girl, but it's sort of there and she sort of doesn't know what to do about it. It's like this weird slimy feeling inside her, and she doesn't know what to do with it.

Meanwhile, Casey blinks rapidly before she slowly brings her fingers to her lips. They're still tingling from where Alex had kissed her, and she's not sure if the tingling is a good thing.

She feels like she has just swallowed a gallon of sand and her heart is still racing at probably ninety nine miles an hour. That was in no way the way she had ever imagined her first kiss would be, but she isn't complaining in the slightest.

In fact, oddly enough, Casey finds herself wanting for Alex to kiss her again, and the thought makes her blush all over again. It isn't that she isn't interested in girls or anything, it's actually quite the opposite. She and Alex are so different in personalities and looks and everything else, but she can't help but find herself extremely interested in the blonde.

After another moment of trying to slow her heart rate, Casey gives up and forces her legs to move. She walks back into the room with her gaze aimed firmly at the ground, determined not to make eye contact with the others.

She can feel someone watching her intently, and she briefly looks up to realize that it's only Alex, with an unreadable expression on her face. If Casey didn't know any better, she would say that Alex is actually trying to analyze her.

Thankfully the silence is broken by Kim awkwardly clearing her throat, and Amanda finally being able to coax an angry Serena out of the other room.

"So um…what kind of movies do you guys like to watch?" Alex asks curiously, deciding that a movie would probably be their safest bet for the rest of the evening.

"I'm pretty open, as long as it's not sappy romance movies that will make me cry." Amanda states, folding her arms.

"Yeah, or horror. I don't do to well with horror." Connie says nodding her head.

Kim rolls her eyes and looks over to Alex who has her eyebrows raised in question. "They'll watch anything." She says not wanting to limit the movies that they can watch.

Casey decides not to say anything so she doesn't draw any kind of attention to herself. She does however glance at Alex who gives her a nervous smile before she stands to search for a movie. Some things in this world do not come easy for people, and for Casey, crushes is one of those things.

Midway through their third movie, mostly everyone has fallen asleep, all except Casey who wasn't paying attention to the movie to begin with. She glances over at a sleeping Alex, and blushes once again. Oh yes, crushes are most definitely not her thing.

**Later **

Ever since the whole sleep over thing, Alex can't help but notice that Casey has practically made it her life's goal to avoid her.

She's pretty sure that it has to do with the kiss, and she must admit, it was a bit spontaneous, but the very last thing she expected was for Casey to just flat out ignore her after it.

Alex has noticed that Casey won't talk to her, her friend's or anyone else, she's reverted back to sitting at her secluded table alone at lunch, heck, she's even made it a purpose that she walks the other direction whenever she sees Alex coming down the hall. Alex is most definitely positive the others have noticed as well.

"So…..maybe its cause you kissed her." Kim says one day, after probably almost two weeks of pure silence from Casey.

Alex immediately blushes and shrinks down in her seat. "You weren't supposed to see that…." she mumbles quietly.

Kim grins broadly and shrugs her shoulders. "Oh but I did. Why'd you kiss her? I didn't even know that you liked her."

"I only did it because she said that she hasn't ever kissed anyone….I think. Now I really don't know, but now she's also avoiding me like the plague. I didn't think she'd be mad at me, but I guess I was wrong."

Kim purses her lips and hums as gears begin turning in her mind. She has an idea, but she isn't going to run it by the other girls until it's complete. So she simply settles on humoring Alex for a little more.

"She'll come around eventually I guess. Or you could just corner her at lunch. Oh! Or go to her house. That's a good idea." She offers, throwing out random ideas.

Alex's face contorts into concentration as she actually thinks about the idea that Kim has given her. It's a bit of a long shot, but it's actually not that bad of an idea. Maybe she'll do it, she has till the end of the day to think about it some more.

"That's really not a bad idea…" she mumbles, quickly gathering her things and rushing out of the classroom when the bell rings.

Kim watches the blonde leave hurriedly and she smirks to herself. She has a plan…a very good plan to be exact; she just hopes that it won't back fire on her…and that the others will agree to help her.

* * *

Casey frowns to herself as she sits in her room once she gets home from school. She knows that she could have handle the situation with Alex a lot better than she has, but she really has absolutely no idea of what to do.

Ever since Alex's sleep over, and that impromptu kiss, she's been feeling these weird feelings that she probably shouldn't feel; feelings that she's not used to feeling.

The only thing that she could think to do was avoid the blonde, simply so she wouldn't have to deal with those brewing feelings. At the same time, it doesn't look like her method is helping because those feelings are still there.

Casey knows that it's wrong for her to like Alex, simply because they're two totally different people that come from two totally different backgrounds. There's no way that the presidential daughter would want to go out with a poor girl who comes from a full house.

She sighs heavily and slumps back onto her bed when she hears the doorbell ring. Sitting up quickly, she stares confusedly into her room wondering who it could be at the door. Maybe her mom left her key at home or something.

"I'll get it!" Lindsey shouts racing down the stairs to answer the door before anyone else. She stands on her tiptoes t see through the peephole, and frowns when she sees a stranger on the other side of the door but she answers it nonetheless.

"Hi, um…is Casey here?" the smiling blonde asks nicely.

"Are you a friend of hers? She doesn't really bring friends over…waaaait a minute…I know who you are!" the eleven year old says as her mouth forms into a perfect 'O' shape. "I've seen you on TV before! You're…"

"Alex?" Casey says confusedly, drawing the other girls attention away from her younger sister.

Alex looks up and finds a very confused Casey staring at her. She nervously puts on her best smile, suddenly wondering if this was at all a good idea.

"Casey, um…hi! I wanted to talk to you so I just thought I'd…"

"It's fine…uh, come in." Casey mumbles shoving her sister out of the way, and motioning for Alex to enter.

Alex steps into the house and marvels at how small and homely it feels. All she's ever grown up in are large manors, mansions, and now the White House, so she can honestly never say she knows what it feels like to actually be in a 'home'.

"Um…we can talk in my room." Casey says, noting her beaming sister and not wanting her to be any kind of embarrassment in anyway. She gives Lindsey one last look before she leads Alex up the stairs and to her bedroom.

"Sorry it's a little messy…" she mumbles.

Alex raises her eyebrows and turns towards her quiet…friend? "Casey this room is spotless." She deadpans, noting that the room is in fact, spotless.

Casey shrugs and sits on her bed, giving Alex the incentive that she can sit as well. She has no idea what it is what Alex wants to talk to her about. No scratch that, she knows exactly what Alex wants to talk to her about, she just doesn't know how it's going to go.

"So…you said you wanted to talk…?"

"Oh! Yeah, um…I did…" Alex says awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I kissed you, and that I made you uncomfortable. I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry…"

Casey silently stares at her hands trying to fight the heat that is rushing to her face. She doesn't really know what to say, and she's never really been one that's been able to tell a lie, so she decides it's best to remain silent.

Alex however, takes this silence as Casey being angry with her, and she immediately begins to try to fix whatever it is that she's messed up.

"Casey, please say something…I'm sorry, and I really want to be friends with you, if that's okay." She pleads, trying to get some sort of responds.

Casey takes a deep breath and nervously begins wringing her hands out of habit. "I'm not mad at you…I…was avoiding you, because I think that I might…like you…" the last part of her sentence is so quiet that she prays that Alex didn't hear it.

Alex raises her eyebrows in confusion and she scoots closer to Casey. "You…like me?"

Casey blushes and ducks her head. After a long few minutes, she nods quickly, hating that she can't lie to anyone.

"That's okay you know…because I like you too." Alex responds, letting the other girl know that there isn't anything she should be embarrassed about.

Casey's head snaps up and she stares at Alex in utter disbelief. There's know way that she can like her, not when they're so different.

"But…why? There isn't anything about me to like." She responds quietly, averting her gaze back to her hands.

"Yes there is. You're really smart, and believe it or not, you're a really cool person to be around." Alex states.

"No I'm not…that's why I don't have any friends and that's why Abbie picks on me."

"Abbie is a jerk, Casey; she shouldn't be your comparing basis on anything. But you really are cool to be around. You're also really pretty."

Casey snorts cynically and shakes her head. "Alex you don't have to lie to me to try and make me feel better. I'm not as pretty as you or Kim or anyone else…I'm dorky and weird and I have glasses…"

"But I still think you're pretty." Alex says seriously. "Just because you have glasses, doesn't mean that you aren't pretty."

Casey doesn't respond to this simply because she doesn't believe anything that Alex is saying. No one has ever found her pretty, so why, all of a sudden would Alex of all people, find her to be?

Alex sits still for a moment before she cautiously raises her hand. She reaches over and carefully removes Casey's glasses from her face, causing the redhead to duck down even more.

She waits for a moment, until Casey finally looks at her, as if silently pleading with her to give her glasses back. But she can't help but smile at how beautiful she finds the shy girl without her glasses.

"See? You're still…really pretty…" she says grinning at how easy it is to get Casey to blush. "So, if you like me…did you like it when I kissed you?"

Casey remains silent for a long moment before she reluctantly nods her head. She feels her heart leap into her throat once again as she recalls the feeling of the kiss.

"Can I kiss you again?" Alex asks quietly, trying to contain her smile when she sees Casey give yet another hesitant head nod.

She softly cups the other girl's cheek before she slowly moves in close until their lips are only millimeters apart, giving Casey a chance to back away if she wants to. When she receives no response, Alex moves forward and gently takes the redhead's lips in her own.

Casey sits paralyzed once again at the feeling of Alex's lips pressed against her own. She has no idea what she is supposed to do, having never experienced a full on kiss before.

Nervously, she closes her eyes and raises a shaky hand placing it on the back of Alex's neck to hold her in place. Her heart rate speeds up as Alex deepens the kiss even more and their lips glide smoothly against each other.

After about a minute or so, the kiss ends, leaving both girls panting for air. Casey once again feels that strange tingly feeling in her lips, only now it is accompanied by a slimy feeling in her stomach.

"W-why…do you…I can't understand how…no one ever…" Casey eventually gives up on trying to form words and simply settles on taking a deep breath. "Wow."

"Wow…" Alex repeats, thoroughly shocked herself by the intensity she feels from the kiss. "Um…I think, I should go…I'll see you at school?"

"Uh…y-yeah…s-school…I'll…see you…" Casey stutters as she gets up to show Alex to the door. She watches as the blonde gets into one of the two SUVs outside her house, all the while her heart still pounding in her throat.

'I like her…and she likes me back…that can't be right. No one ever likes me…but what if she really does? What am I supposed to do now?'

**Hope you guys enjoyed it even if it probably sucks a whole lot. Leave a review? **

****Important** I have a crossover with Criminal Minds, idea in the works at the moment and I wanna know what you guys think if I should give it a go or not. Of course it'd be A/C but I just wanna know what you guys think of that idea. I've written maybe a full chapters preview worth so I wanna know if it's even worth posting. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Eeeee next chapter. Hope ya like…**

Casey swallows nervously as she waits by Kim's car in the parking lot after school. She has no idea what the brunette has up for her and frankly, she's a little terrified to say the least.

Of course she knows that Kim isn't going to do anything mean to her simply because she's just not that mean of a person, but that doesn't stop Casey's mind from wandering through several different scenarios on why her presence was requested.

After waiting for a few more short minutes, Casey spots Kim laughing with Connie and Amanda as she approaches her car. She shuffles her feet uncomfortably hoping that she's going to get some sort of an explanation about what's going on.

"Casey, hey! Sorry that I took so long, had to pick up something from Physics." The brunette says tossing her school stuff in the trunk.

"I-it's fine…I wasn't really standing here for that long anyway." Casey responds quietly.

"Oh, okay, well you can just toss your stuff in the back.' Kim says, exchanging a brief look with Connie and Amanda before the two climb into Connie's car.

"So, you told your mom that you're staying over right?" Kim says, once she and Casey have settled into her own car, and she's pulling out of the parking lot.

Casey nods her head and nervously fiddles with her hands in her lap. "Y-yeah…um, if you don't mind me asking, why'd you ask me to stay over?"

Kim grins broadly, but keeps her eyes on the road nonetheless. "Because, it's a surprise. The first part of your surprise, is that we are going shopping."

Casey's eyes widen and she opens her mouth to say something only to be cut off by the confident brunette.

"And before you say anything, don't worry about it. I have you covered. That's the whole part of your surprise."

Casey snaps her mouth shut and turns her head to look outside of the window. Just as they're about to pull out of the parking lot, she sees Serena getting in the car with Abbie. She can't help but notice that Serena hasn't exactly hung around the others that much lately.

"Is Serena still going out with Abbie?" she asks curiously, turning back to Kim who snorts and makes a face in response.

"Yeah. She doesn't really talk to us anymore now, since you know, dating the whole popular girl thing. Plus, I think she's kind of mad at us because we told her not to go out with Abbie, but it's whatever. If she wants to get hurt, that's her problem…"

Casey chews on her lip out of nervous habit and stares back into her hands, once again starting to question Kim's reasons behind basically kidnapping her.

After another moment of silence, she decides that it's safe to start asking questions again.

"So…why are you taking me shopping? I mean, I'm sure that Connie, or Amanda, or Alex would love to have gone shopping with you…"

"Oh don't worry, they're going to. Well, not Alex, this is kind of a surprise for her too. I saw her kiss you at her sleepover you know. People might not realize it but I'm very observant. You really like her too. I can tell."

Casey blushes fire engine red and ducks her head down, causing Kim to giggle quietly.

"She likes you too you know. She told me. Are you two gonna be like…a thing?" she questions curiously.

Casey shrinks a little in her seat and shrugs her shoulders. She would be lying if she said that she doesn't think about Alex in that way, but then there's that whole being the physically and socially awkward girl in school. She just can't date the president's daughter.

Kim raises her eyebrows at Casey's embarrassment but hums nonetheless. "Well, I think that you should ask her out. You two would be so cute together."

"But…she's the president's daughter and I'm…mean…she shouldn't waste her time with someone like me when she can find someone better." Casey responds, starting to wring her hands nervously.

"Don't be so down on yourself all the time. You'll never know what she'll say until you try, and I think you should give it a shot…but first…we shop!"

**Later In The Evening **

Casey cannot believe how many stores that Connie, Kim, and Amanda dragged her into, and she can honestly say that she's never seen so many clothes in all of her life. It actually amuses her that the other girls were more excited about shopping for her than she was.

"Oh my gosh this is going to be so much fun!" Connie exclaims excitedly as the foursome walks into Kim's rather large bedroom. It's in no way the size of Alex's bedroom but it is larger than what is considered the average.

"Someone is a little too excited." Amanda says shaking her head at the bouncy brunette.

Casey stands awkwardly on one side of the room when she feels herself being forcefully sat on a stool in front of a mirror. She swallows thickly once again as the three of them appear behind her and she wonders just exactly what they have planned for her.

"Okay, well first of all...these need to go." Amanda says removing Casey's glasses from her face.

"But now I can't see…" Casey mumbles, shutting her eyes and not wanting to look at herself with out her glasses.

"Then wear contacts…" the blonde responds as if it is the most obvious suggestion in the world before she hands the redhead her glasses.

Casey sighs and deflates on the stool as she sees Connie and Kim's faces contorting into concentration as they visually analyze her.

"How come you always wear your hair up?" Connie asks curiously running her hand through red locks pulled back into a pony tail. She turns to Kim and raises her eyebrows when she only receives a small shrugs in response.

"Then that's where we'll start. Connie, take her to the bathroom and help her wash her hair. I have plans for the rest of this evening." Kim responds, grinning when she sees Casey blanch as Connie drags her into the bathroom.

"You sure this is gonna help?" Amanda asks, raising her eyebrows at her taller friend.

Kim folds her arms and shifts her weight repeatedly. "It better, but something tells me I'm not wrong about this being what she needs.

**Later **

"Ow…Ow…OW! Jesus, Connie, that hurts!" Casey grumbles as Connie tries to drag the comb through her hair.

"Well, I'm sorry, but your hair is tangled!" Connie responds, becoming extremely agitated with the hair that is obviously trying to fight back.

"Did you use the detangling shampoo…" Kim asks appearing in the doorway of her bathroom.

Connie's mouth drops open and her arms fall irritably at her sides. "Did I use the…I don't know! Jesus, Kimberly, it's like fucking Narnia in your bathroom! How was I supposed to know to use the detangling shampoo, let alone even know where it is!? I just picked up something!"

Kim rolls her eyes and thwacks Connie in the head for the 'Kimberly' statement. She fiddles for something in one of her several cabinets for something before she produces a purple bottle that she thrusts into the other girl's hand.

"Just use the moisturizer then, and Connie, we use the detangling shampoo to…detangle…" she says before returning to her spot in the doorway.

Connie narrows her eyes and squeezes the moisturizer on her hands to begin applying it to Casey's wet tangled hair.

"Sarcástico perra siempre tratando de decirme qué hacer…No es mi culpa que no tiene su mierda juntos…" she mumbles irritably, glaring at Kim's reflection in the mirror.

Casey giggles at the exchange between the two friends and she visibly relaxes as she becomes slightly more comfortable with their presence. Maybe it won't be so bad after all.

A few minutes later, Casey finds herself back in Kim's bedroom after she has just had a blow dryer dragged through her hair. Thankfully due to the moisturizer, it didn't hurt as much as she had foreseen.

"So…do you guys think that Alex will actually want to go out with me?" she asks as Amanda continues to straighten her hair.

"Most definitely."

"Totally."

"Absolutely."

Casey moves to nod her head but freezes when she remembers that Amanda is still running the straightener through her hair and the very last thing she wants is to get burned. Now all she has to do is figure out how to ask Alex out…and where she should take her.

**Later…Again **

"Gosh, when you're so pale, it really does make it hard to find make up for you…close your eyes." Kim instructs as she carefully runs the makeup brush over Casey's face. "Can one of you hand me the mascara?"

Connie digs around in the bag before she produces a long black tube that she passes over to Kim.

"So…how long do you guys think it'll be before Abbie dumps Serena?" Amanda asks, flopping onto Kim's bed.

The others think for a moment before they each come up with their own individual answer.

"A month…"

"A week…"

"Till she sleeps with her…" Casey mumbles, being well aware of Abbie' reputation, what with the way that word spreads around the school. "Do you guys remember Avery Butler?"

"The girl that had to transfer schools last year?" Kim questions, finding familiarity in the name.

Connie sits still for a moment before she pokes up from her seat in recognition. "I remember her! She was the girl that had sex with Abbie in the girls locker room right?"

"Oh yeah! And some how everyone found out about it, and she transferred cause everyone was calling her a slut!" Amanda says, fully recalling the situation.

"Yeah, that sucked for her…" Kim mumbles as she finishes Casey's make up. "There…all done!"

Connie and Amanda scramble next to Kim and admire what they have done. They all squeal in unison and can't wait until they go back to school the next day.

* * *

**The Next Day **

"I can't do this…" Casey says, clutching her books closer to her as if they're the only thing that's holding her to reality.

"But you look great! C'mon Case, you're gonna be fine…" Kim instructs, trying to coax Casey out of the dark corner she's tucked herself into.

Casey shakes her head and tucks her hair behind her ear, still not entirely used to wearing her hair down. "But I feel awkward with out my glasses…and what if people laugh at me?"

"No one is gonna laugh at you. You look beautiful, and if they don't think so, then just don't let it get to you. Please…for me?" Kim begs putting on her best puppy dog pout.

She squeals in delight when she sees the shy redhead take a deep breath and slowly make her way out of the corner. She gives Casey a nearly bone crushing hug before she pulls away exclaiming that she has to get to class, leaving Casey to her own thoughts.

"This better not turn out to be an utter disaster…" Casey mumbles to herself as she reluctantly makes her way to her first class. She can feel people's eyes on her, but she doesn't return their looks. There's only one person that she wants to look at her, and she's not going to see that person until her second class.

Physics rolls around a little too quickly for Casey's liking, and after first period, she soon finds herself standing outside the door of the science room. She pokes her head inside and sees Alex sitting at her lab station, with an empty stool next to her. 'This is it…now or never…'

She takes a deep breath and forces her legs to move into the classroom. She bypasses her usual seat in the back, and she semi confidently takes a seat on the stool next to Alex.

Alex feels someone sit down next to he rand she turns her head thoroughly shocked into oblivion by what she sees; Casey without her glasses, light amount of make up, more girlish clothes, and her hair cascading in shiny red locks down her back. Beautiful wouldn't even begin to describe how Alex thinks she looks.

"Casey…wow…oh my god…you…wow…" she breathes out breathlessly.

Casey blushes and smiles bashfully, averting her eyes to the table. "Um…so, you like it?"

"You look…gorgeous…what happened?" Alex questions, suddenly feeling the meaning of the saying of having her breath taken away.

Casey shrugs and places her books on the table. "Kim got to me, and kidnapped me…so…this happened. I hope it's okay…I wasn't sure that I'd look okay."

"Are you kidding? You look amazing! I especially love that you're wearing your hair down." Alex says, gently running her fingers through long red hair.

Casey blushes once again and she feels her heart rate speed up. She has no idea what it is about being in the presence of the other girl, but whenever she's around Alex, her heart feels like it's literally going to leap out of her chest.

Across the room, Abbie stares over her shoulder at Casey who looks to have gone through a complete and total wardrobe change. She doesn't know how long she's been staring when she feels a sharp poking in her neck.

"Are you staring at her?" Serena asks, sounding a little more than offended. "Why are you staring at her?"

Abbie turns around in her seat and rolls her eyes. "I was not staring at her."

"You totally were! I just saw you staring at her. Why are you staring at her when you're dating me?"

"You need to chill out…I wasn't staring at her." the brunette replies, sighing heavily when Serena crosses her arms tightly, showing her agitation.

Abbie leans over and pecks Serena on the lips, stroking the blonde's hair softly. "Relax okay? I wasn't staring at her, especially not when I only have eyes for you."

"Are you gonna come over later? My parents aren't gonna be home." Serena asks, intertwining their fingers.

A smirk spreads across Abbie's face and she brings Serena's hand to her lips, softly kissing it. "Yeah, I'll be there…"

* * *

Casey nervously waits by Alex's locker before lunch because she knows that the blonde stops there to put her things away before she continues out side. She must admit, it might be a little creepy, but it was the only thing that she could think to do.

She isn't waiting very long for she sees Alex soon approaching her locker with a stack of text books in her arms. She immediately rushes over, and offers to take the books so Alex won't have to carry them.

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Alex says as shoves one book after another into her locker.

Casey blushes and shrugs, nervously twiddling her thumbs at what's supposed to come next. She practiced this over and over in her mind, and now she feels like she's forgot completely.

"U-um…there's…something that I-I wanted to…um…ask you." she says awkwardly.

"Oh, well ask away." Alex says smiling, encouraging Casey to go on.

Casey takes a deep breath and nervously rubs the back of her neck. "Well…I mean….it's a Friday and all…so would you…um…maybe like to uh…go on a date…with uh…me?" she pauses realizing how choppy everything is coming out and she takes another deep breath to compose herself. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

A wide smile spreads across Alex's lips and she can't help but find it absolutely adorable that Casey is nervous.

"I'd love to." She responds, still grinning.

Casey raises her eyebrows in shock. She had set her self up for rejection, what she hadn't expected was for Alex to actually say yes.

"Y-you will…?" she stutters out in disbelief.

"I will. I would love to go on a date with you."

Casey clears her throat and awkwardly shuffles her feet a little. "Oh…wow…um…I…can pick you up at…six? Does that sound okay?"

Alex nods her head excitedly. "That's fine. How should I dress?"

"Um…casually." Casey responds, hoping that her idea of a first date doesn't suck completely.

Grinning, Alex leans forward and gives Casey a kiss on the cheek. "Great, then I'll be ready by six. I'll give you details on where to go and everything at lunch. You coming?"

"Y-yeah I'm coming I just need to…get something out of my locker first." The redhead responds, mustering a smile.

"Oh, okay. Then I'll see you in a few!" Alex says before she disappears in the flood of students in the hall.

Casey sighs and leans against the lockers. She is almost positive that her heart is going to just jump right out of her chest with excitement and nerves.

_'Oh my god…I'm going on a date with Alexandra Cabot!' _

**Awwww more cuteness! Eeeek it just warms my heart. Any cute first date ideas? Leave a review?**

**Oh yeah! Translation for Connie's spontaneous Spanish! I don't speak Spanish you guys so bear with me. **

** "Sarcástico perra siempre tratando de decirme qué hacer…No es mi culpa que no tiene su mierda juntos…"- 'Sarcastic bitch always trying to tell me what to do. Not my fault your shit isn't together.' **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Whoa damn, this chapter is longer than expected too. Oh well. Glad you guys have liked my crossover. I wasn't sure if anyone would like it but I'm glad you all do, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

Casey shifts uncomfortably under the gaze of the Secret Service agent with dark hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She can't help but feel like this woman knows everything about her, which she probably does, considering the circumstances.

"You don't have to be afraid of me you know. I'm not going to shoot you or anything…" Eliza says, feeling the anxiousness of the young teen radiating off of her in waves.

Casey ducks her head and gives a slight nod. "I-I know…I just…I'm nervous…I've never really…done this before and…it's just kind of nerve racking when your first date is with the first daughter…"

Eliza chuckles and folds her arms. "Ahh young love. It's refreshing to see teenagers actually be adorable about relationships rather than just plain vile and disgusting. However, I am sure that you will do fine, just as long as you keep Alex entertained she's very…well let's just say she's curious, and she needs to always be entertained."

"Are you talking about me Liza?" Alex asks, appearing in the corridor, playfully glaring at the agent.

"I only speak the truth. Stop me when I'm lying." Eliza responds, holding up her hands.

Casey swallows thickly, and she feels like it's gotten to be about a thousand degrees. She feels herself flush even more when Alex gives her a warm smile.

"Hi Casey." The blonde says, giving her date a small hug before pulling away, slightly bouncing with excitement.

"U-um….hi…" Casey mutters, averting her gaze to her shoes, silently cursing that she hasn't come up with anything better to say.

"We can get going, but my father wanted to talk to you first…" Alex says, only slightly embarrassed by her father's requests.

Casey pales at least three shades and her mouth goes completely dry. "You mean…as in...b-but…I…"

"It won't be that bad. Come on, he's in his office." Alex says, motioning for her to follow down another corridor.

Casey forces her legs to move and she lets Alex lead the way, with Eliza following not to far behind them. She hadn't expected that her first date would be this complicated, but she doesn't mind.

The two soon come to a stop in front of a door and Alex can tell that Casey is more than nervous, but…who wouldn't be nervous when they're about to meet the president?

Alex gives Casey one more reassuring smile before she opens the door and strolls into the office. Casey lags behind a little bit, and slowly follows when Alex motions that it's okay for her to come in.

She immediately takes in her surroundings and it fully hits her a full five seconds later that she is standing in the middle of the oval office. The oval office, in the White House, where the president is.

Casey's eyes then fall on the tall man with graying dark hair, making his way around the desk.

"Daddy, this is Casey." Alex says introducing the two. "Casey, this is…my father."

Robert smiles brightly and extends his hand towards Casey. "Robert Cabot, but you can call me Mr. Cabot if you would like."

"U-um….y-yes sir….its n-nice to meet you…sir…" Casey stutters, nervously shaking the president's hand. She mentally curses that it's so easy for her to trip over her words. She blushes once again as she hears Alex quietly giggling next to her.

"So, I hear that you wish to date my daughter." Robert says, this time causing Alex to blush as well.

"Daddy!" the blonde shouts, covering her face with her hands.

"Y-yes sir…I do…if that's okay with you sir…." Casey responds, trying to muster a smile.

"Well, then I guess as a father I'm supposed to lay down the 'ground rules'. Alex go wait outside." Robert says motioning towards the door.

Alex's jaw drops and she folds her arms. "But-"

"Go. I'll only be a few minutes." He says again, leaving his daughter no room to argue.

Alex huffs and exits the office, praying that she isn't going to regret leaving her date alone with her father.

"Have a seat Casey." Robert says, taking a seat on one of the sofa's in his office.

Casey nods her head and sits next to him, praying that it isn't blatantly obvious that she's scarily nervous about this whole ordeal.

"So, I've never had to do this before so bear with me here. You do understand that I expect you to respect my daughter, correct?"

Casey quickly nods her head at the question. "Oh, yes sir. I really like Alex, and I would never do anything that would be disrespectful, and would make her uncomfortable."

Robert hums and crosses his legs, relaxing onto the couch a little. "And how old are you Casey?"

"Sixteen sir…Alex and I are in the same grade at school, and we have a few classes together." She responds, semi confidently.

"You do also understand that I wish to have her back here by ten…ten thirty at the latest?"

Casey once again nods her head. She has never been on a date before but she's smart enough to figure out that when he says ten thirty at the latest, he actually means ten.

"Yes, I understand. I also understand that a few of your agents will be surveying our surroundings to assure Alex's safety. With all due respect sir, I really, really like your daughter, and the last thing that I would is put her in some sort of dangerous situation. I can assure you that I won't let anything bad happen to her."

Robert thinks for a moment before he smiles, showing off his perfectly white teeth. "I like you Casey. You seem like a good kid, so I will allow you to take Alex out this evening. Just keep in mind everything I said."

Casey smiles back and quickly nods her head. "Yes sir…I understand sir." She says, following Robert to the door of his office.

Alex scowls up at her father once he opens the door. She rolls her eyes when he smiles and shrugs in return.

"I think I did okay. Have fun sweetie." He says kissing the teen on the head before going back to his work.

Alex sighs heavily and rolls her eyes, praying to anything that her father didn't scare Casey in any way. It'd be a shame for her first date to be ruined by her father.

**Outside **

"I am so sorry for…him…" Alex says, a little embarrassed by her father's over protective tendencies.

Casey shrugs and puts her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "It's fine…I guess he was just being a dad. He was really nice so I didn't have a problem with it. So um…do you like animals?"

Alex stops walking and gasps happily. "Oh my gosh, I love animals! I've never been to the zoo though, I've always wanted to go."

Casey chuckles nervously at the blonde's excitement. "Well, great because that's where I thought we should go…it's not that far from here so I hope you don't mind walking, it'll give us a chance to talk and…stuff."

"That's awesome! I've always wanted to see the animals. What's your favorite animal?"

"Well…I really like sea otters. I like watching them swim and I find it really fascinating that they can move with such grace that they do. Plus…they're cute."

Alex grins happily and pokes Casey in the side. "I bet they aren't as cute as you. My favorite animal is the panda. They look like giant over stuffed teddy bears and I bet they're just so fluffy to hug! We are gonna go see the panda's right?"

"We can go see what ever you want. I'm open for anything." Casey responds, hoping that she isn't going to say the wrong thing. She knows that even as they walk together towards the Smithsonian Nation Zoo, they're still being watched intently by Secret Service Agents when tends to make things a little more awkward.

They walk in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Alex speaks up again. "So, tell me more about your family. What's it like to have siblings."

Casey groans and runs her fingers through her hair as she tries to think up what to say about the three devil spawns she has at home that she calls sisters.

"My sisters are a real handful. Lindsey is eleven and she's at that age where she wants to get involved with literally everything. Sports, drama, cheerleading, music, you name it, Lindsey probably wants to do it. Hanna is seven and she's a little more…conservative. She can be a little shy sometimes, especially when she's around people other than us. She really likes books too. She likes it when I read books to her, and you should see her when she tries to read the big words in the books that I read. It's actually really cute. Cassie is super adorable. She's still five, so her little mind is still fairly innocent and oblivious about everything. She likes to figure out how things work, so sometimes, she'll take apart some of her toys just to see if she an put them back together. That annoys Mom sometimes though because she'll be finding pieces of toys all over the place occasionally."

"Wow, sounds like they are a handful. If you don't mind me asking…what happened with your Dad?" Alex asks carefully, knowing she's probably treading on thin ice.

Casey takes a sharp deep breath, and shoves her hands deeper into her pockets. She's never really talked about her father with anyone, but for some strange reason, she feels that she can open up to Alex about things in her life. How else would they be able to build a basis of trust?

"Um…well, he was a bit of an alcoholic, an angry alcoholic. He'd abuse my mother a lot verbally, and sometimes physically. She made sure that he never touched me or my sisters though. Right after Cassie was born, he literally just left, no reasons, and no means of contact, just left leaving my mother struggling to raise four girls on her own." Casey explains, succeeding in hiding her emotions and resentment towards her father.

"Wow…that must be really hard." Alex says sadly, not being able to imagine what it would be like with out one of her parents.

Casey simply shrugs it off as if it's nothing. "Yeah…things do get a little hard sometimes but we find a way to manage. My mom is looking for a job right now, and if she doesn't find one, we might have to move in with my grandma across the city."

Alex stops walking again and gives Casey a sorrowful look. "Across the city? Would you have to change schools?" she asks sadly.

"Nah, it'd just mean for an earlier morning, and a longer bus ride everyday. Even if we don't have much, I'm happy with my family and I love them anyway. That might sound a little lame but…yeah." Casey says, kicking invisible rocks.

Alex shakes her head and smiles softly. "It's not lame. It's really sweet."

"Yeah well…what about you? Growing up in a powerful political family and stuff?"

"My childhood was very…sanctioned. I was hardly ever around other kids, and when I was, I was being watched closely and carefully. Believe it or not, it wasn't easy growing up as a senator's daughter and an only child. I had to get used to being alone a lot of the time. That kinda changed when my dad decided to run for the presidency, but not by much. I guess I've just gotten so used to being locked up and by myself, that I haven't really had the time to be a normal kid." Alex explains, semi sadly.

Casey smiles and nudges Alex playfully. "Well, every normal kid just has to start at the zoo."

* * *

**Later **

"But Casey, we haven't seen the giraffes!" Alex whines, tugging on Casey's jacket.

"Alex we've been here for over an hour and a half, and there's something else that I want to show you. Plus, we've walked past the giraffes twice!" Casey protests.

"Well, I just wanted to see them again. They look so cute with their long necks and wiggly ears! But I do wanna see what else it is you wanna show me. Let's go!" Alex complies, once again dragging Casey towards the exit of the zoo.

Casey finds it thoroughly amusing that she under estimated Alex's excitement about the zoo. It was actually really adorable to see the blonde get super excited over seeing all her favorite animals.

At first she had thought that taking Alex to the zoo would be extremely lame, but she realizes that it wasn't at all that bad of a decision. In fact, she thinks that it actually turned out for the better. The zoo brought out a lot of childlike tendencies for the both of them, and it made for an excellent night.

"Whoa, I've never really been up here. Especially not at night." Alex says dumbfounded as they climb the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.

"That's the best time to come is at night. See." Casey says pointing out towards the reflecting pool. "You can even see how cool the Washington Monument looks from here."

Alex admires the dim lights that have found their way to the reflecting pool and are casting a small glow to the shallow waters. For the amount of time that she's lived in DC she can honestly say she hasn't really seen a whole lot of the monuments.

"I also like that surprisingly not a whole lot of people come up here at this time. I think that's when everything is just awesome to look at. Look, if you look reeeeeaaally far, you can see the capitol from here too."

Alex follows Casey's pointed finger and smiles when she does in fact see the brightly lit building way off in the distance. It amazes her how even on a breezy night, things can still be so peaceful and beautiful to look at.

She steps further into one of the nations monuments and stares up at the large, ghastly lit statue of the sixteenth president.

"Maybe my daddy will do something amazing for this country, and one day he'll have a statue." Alex says, admiring the statue.

"I think that he already did something amazing by having you as his daughter. As cheesy as that may sound it's true. You're really amazing and funny, and pretty and just…wow. I really like you a lot, and I know this is our first date and everything, but I was kind of wondering if you'd…maybe be my girlfriend." Casey asks nervously shuffling her feet.

A wide grin spreads across Alex's face, and instead of answering she simply settles on enveloping Casey in a tight hug.

"I would love to be your girlfriend." she says softly. She then slowly wraps her arms around Casey's neck, suddenly becoming well aware of their close proximities.

Swallowing nervously, Casey shakily wraps her arms around Alex's waist, succeeding in guiding their bodies closer together. Just when she's sure they're about to kiss again, Alex stops abruptly and cranes her neck.

"Liza, oh my god, I can hear you mumbling!" she shouts, suddenly remembering the present of Secret Service.

Eliza steps out of the shadows and crosses her arms tightly. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just…I don't think I'm ready for you to grow up like this!"

Alex rolls her eyes and flushes with embarrassment as she hears Casey snickering quietly.

"Goodbye Eliza." The blonde says irritably, staring at her friend.

Eliza sighs heavily before she begins making her way down the stairs, joining the other eight agents that had accompanied them for the night.

"I'm sorry about her…she's just…overprotective. Now…where were we?" Alex asks playfully. In stead of a response, she feels Casey's lips suddenly pressed against her own, and it only takes her for a few seconds to respond to the kiss.

Sure they've already kissed like twice before this, but there is something about this time that's different. It seems…perfect, whereas the other kisses just seemed awkward and tentative.

After a few minutes of their intense lip lock, Casey pulls away completely breathless and panting.

"So does this mean that you're my girlfriend now?" she asks hopefully.

Alex leans forward and gives her a quick peck on the lips. "Yes, this definitely means that I am your girlfriend now."

Casey blushes but smiles widely nonetheless. Oh how she can't even begin to imagine the looks on their friend's faces when they get back to school on Monday.

* * *

**Monday **

"Kim is gonna squeal." Casey says as they make their way towards the lunch table outside.

"No she's not, Kim doesn't seem like the type of girl to squeal." Alex protests, making a face.

Casey shakes her head recalling the amount of squealing Kim did the night she was kidnapped for her make over. If anyone knew that Kim Greyleck was capable of squealing, it was Casey.

She smirks and gently takes Alex's hand in her own. "No, I promise you, she's gonna squeal."

Alex rolls her eyes and interlaces her fingers with Casey's as they get closer to their friends. The two of them can't help but laugh when they walk up on Amanda reaching over the table trying to receive something from Connie's hands.

"Everything okay?" Alex asks, reluctantly taking a seat on the side of the bench next to Amanda.

"Connie fucking took my phone." the shorter blonde grumbles, glaring hard at the laughing girls on the opposite side of the table.

"Cuz she's been texting this mystery girl and we wanna know who she is." Connie says, starting to go through Amanda's text messages despite the angry girl's protests.

Alex rolls her eyes and rests her head on Casey's shoulder, seeking a comfort that she just felt the need to accommodate herself with at the moment.

Kim stares at the two for a moment before her face brightens up like a kid in a toy store on Christmas. "Oh my gosh, are you two totally a thing now!?"

Casey smiles and holds their intertwined hands above the table letting the other girls know that they are in fact a 'thing'. She turns and gives Alex a look of self triumph when Kim squeals in excitement.

"That is so cute! You two are so adorable!" Connie exclaims excitedly, still keeping Amanda's phone at a respectable distance so she can't reach it.

"Yeah! It's like two cute little bunnies!" Amanda grumbles out still trying to reach her cell phone.

Casey smiles and lightly pecks Alex on the lips to show her affections. She doesn't know why, but being around Alex gives her a new found confidence.

They have all been sitting enjoying their lunch time for probably about fifteen minutes, when a very saddened Serena slumps up to their table.

"Can I…sit with you guys?" she asks the girls, who she's not even sure she can consider her friends anymore.

Alex, Amanda, and Casey stare at her curiously, while Kim has to physically force a glaring Connie to slide over on the bench to make room for the glum blonde.

Serena sits down at the table and wraps her arms around her self tightly. She can feel the other girls' eyes on her, and she isn't sure if it's just from curiosity or hatred.

"Are you alright?" Casey asks quietly, voicing the question of three out of four of the rest of the girls at the table.

Serena deflates and stares at the table, not really knowing what she can say to any of the girls. She feels sickly and embarrassed and she's sure that it shows.

"Not really…Abbie broke up with me…" she says quietly.

"Surprise, surprise." Connie mumbles sarcastically from the other end of the bench, earning her a sharp kick from Alex under the table.

"What happened?" Kim asks, pretty sure that she already knows the answer.

"She broke up with me on Friday after…" Serena pauses and takes in a shaky deep breath. "I let her take my virginity…after we had sex in my room on Friday she told me that she was breaking up with me. I just feel dirty, and icky, and used…"

The rest of the girls at the table remain silent not really knowing what it is they can say to Serena.

"I'm sorry that happened…" Alex says softly, speaking before anyone else as she sees the apathetic look on Connie's face. She knows that the brunette is just itching to say 'I told you so'.

Serena is about to say something, but shrinks closer to Kim when she sees Abbie and the rest of her clique approaching their table.

"So, you decided to return to your pathetic little friends now huh?" Abbie snickers along with the rest of her friends. "Sorry it didn't work out babe, you just weren't really my type." She concludes, not sounding sorry at all.

"Oh, then what is your type? Something has a pulse and you can fuck for your own personal delights?" Alex speaks up angrily.

Abbie snorts and folds her arms. "Watch it Princess, you don't know who you're talking to." She says watching Casey place a protective arm around the blonde. "Well, what do we have hear? Are you two a thing now? I must say, you do clean up well Novak, I'll give you that, I just never thought that the presidential daughter would be picking from the bottom."

"Abbie, why don't you just leave…" Kim says exasperatedly, wanting to end the ridiculous conflicts.

"I don't think she was talking to you." Olivia sneers venomously.

"And no one was talking to you. Why don't you find someone else to pick on." Amanda says, glaring hard at Olivia.

"Like who, you? What're you gonna do about it shorty? You're not scaring anyone Rollins."

"Yeah, and neither are you. All you do is strut around here acting like a badass when all you are is Abbie's whore. I bet she says jump, and you say on what." Amanda counters back boldly.

Olivia clenches her fists tightly at her sides and grits her teeth. "Why don't you come say that to my face you underprivileged piece of trash."

There is a pause for literally a second before Amanda shoots off of the bench and tackles Olivia to the ground.

The two groups immediately move to separate the two girls who have gone into an all out brawl on the ground.

Casey, however, hangs back a at the table, not being the one to engage in any kind of physical disagreements. She flinches and goes stiff when she suddenly feels a hand on her backside. She turns around only to be met with a devilishly smirking Abbie.

"Who knew that with the right kinda stuff, you could actually turn out to be hot? Maybe one day you'll let me show you a real good time." She says winking before she walks off, choosing to completely ignore the fight at hand.

Casey flushes uncomfortably and moves towards the circle where she wraps her arms around a worried on looking Alex. She can't explain why but she feels like a predator is on the prowl, and she has just become the prey.

**Well…that's awkward…in a way…I guess…hm…leave a review? **

**Personal question: if someone cheats on you, and then a few months later comes back claiming how much they love you, asking for your forgiveness and a second chance, do you give it to them? **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I don't even know where this random post came from, but it was there and I guess I just thought, hey what the hell. **

"So how long was Amanda suspended for?" Alex asks one day as she laces her fingers with Casey's. The two are lounging comfortably on the redhead's been as they discuss their friends.

Casey shrugs and makes a face as she tries to recall exactly what was said to her about their friend's suspension. "I dunno…Connie told me seven days but then Kim came back and told me it was ten. Either way I think it's going to round out to at least a week if not more seeing as it was a pretty intense fight. If my personal guess is right, she should be back at school tomorrow."

"Olivia wasn't suspended that long. That's not even fair…She's the one that provoked Amanda."

"Yeah well, Olivia also got her ass thoroughly kicked too so I suppose it balances out."

Alex giggles and rolls over on to her side where she is halfway lying on the mattress, and halfway lying on top of Casey. A smile spreads across her face as she leans down and gives the redhead a well placed kiss on the lips. "You're so cute."

Casey blushes but smiles into the kiss nonetheless. She doesn't know what it is about Alex, but whenever she's in the blonde's present, she finds her confidence boosting by a thousand and one percent. It's like all of her insecurities just melt away, and her world just revolves around one thing; Alex.

"You're adorable." She reminds, lifting her chin so she can steal another kiss. "How'd you convince your dad to let up on secret service?"

Alex sighs and begins to absentmindedly play with her girlfriend's fingers. "Oh, it took a lot of begging. I had to beg him to keep them away because I felt safe. We argued about it for maybe an hour but with a little 'Please Daddy' here and a little more persuading with the help of Mom, he finally gave in. Then I had to spend another two hours trying to convince Eliza that I would be fine. She's real protective of me."

Casey smiles and tucks a stray strand of blonde hair behind Alex's ear. "I can tell, she seems like a good person. So I take it they both gave in then?"

"Yeah, they both did, and I've felt relieved ever since. I mean, do you know how amazing It feels to finally be able to go to the bathroom and not know that there are people standing outside the door waiting for me to walk out? I feel like I've been released from chains or something."

"You sound like they were making you a prisoner of war. But as long as your happy and comfortable, I'm happy and comfortable. You're like…a princess."

"Well I'm _your _princess." Alex purrs as she leans down and takes Casey's lips in her own once again. She runs her tongue across Casey's bottom lip, and smirks when the redhead moans, granting her entrance. This time Alex finds herself moaning when she feels Casey's tongue tentatively meet her own and they begin a skilled, synchronized dance for dominance.

With their lips still attacked, Casey suddenly flips them over to where she is on top and she has Alex's wrists pinned firmly to the mattress. She smirks when she feels Alex shudder beneath her, and finally, she has to break the kiss because of the lack of oxygen.

"Wow." Alex pants as she finds herself to be thoroughly shocked by Casey's sudden spark of dominance.

"Wow yourself." Casey responds with a well placed smirk. "You know, for such a conservative girl like yourself, how'd you learn to kiss like that?"

"I suppose that I could be asking you the exact same question." Alex responds cheekily, wrapping her arms around Casey's neck to pull her down for another kiss.

"Ewwww gross!" A voice from the doorway exclaims, succeeding in startling the two girls away from each other.

Casey cranes her neck and rolls her eyes as she sees her sister Hanna standing in the doorway with a disgusted look on her face. "You little dweeb, don't you know how to knock?"

Hanna places her hands on her hips and sticks her tongue out. "I didn't know you were gonna be _kissing _Alex on your bed. That's gross."

Alex giggles as she sits up and can't help but laugh again when she sees Casey continuing to roll her eyes. Honestly, it's times like this that she's sort of grateful that she doesn't have any siblings; younger or older.

"Well if you think it's so gross then don't look." Casey states flatly. "What do you want anyway?"

"I just came to tell ya, that Mom called and said that she'd be getting home late today." The seven year old states as she sticks her tongue out at her sister once more before leaving the room.

Casey sighs and plops down next to Alex on her bed. "Talk about a mood killer…" she groans, realizing that their make out moment is kind of lost in the wind.

Alex takes Casey's hand and places a kiss on her forehead. "It'll come back I'm sure." She says nicely, before her tone goes serious. "How is your mom in finding a job?"

"She's…she's still trying." Casey says with a sigh as she looks down at her hands. "But I know that she'll find a job soon, and I'm not gonna worry about it."

Alex chews her bottom lip and nods as she makes a personal mental note to have a conversation with her father a little later when she gets home.

**The Next Day **

"Pfft, I wish that I would've been able to be at home for a whole week." Kim mumbles as they take their usual seats at their usual lunch table.

Amanda shrugs nonchalantly as if her whole suspension meant nothing. "It's not like my parents cared or anything, I just told them the typical, 'she hit me first' lie, and they let me do whatever."

"Yeah, except leave the house." Serena adds in with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well, you'll be glad to know, they let Benson come back after three days while you were in the hole for a week."

"What?! Fuck, that's not even fair!"

"That's what I said." Alex speaks up as she shuffles closer to Casey on the bench. She places a soft kiss on the redhead's cheek and earns a collective 'aw' from the rest of their friends.

Before either Serena or Kim can launch into their spiels about how cute the couple is, a very excited looking Connie practically runs up to their table and plops down in her usual spot. "Guys, you will not believe what I just found out!"

"Branch is quitting and we're getting a new English teacher." Kim deadpans, hoping that her guess is the truth. She deflates however when Connie shakes her head in the negative."

"Psh, I wish! But no, what I just found out is that Daniel Khan is having a public invite party tonight."

The rest of the girls gasp with excitement, minus Casey and Alex, and they soon begin to babble amongst themselves about the party.

"Oh I am so there." Serena explains nearly bouncing in her seat. Daniel Khan, one of the most popular football players, always throws the most amazing parties.

Kim nods her head in agreement as well. "Count me in. Khan's parties are always super bitchin'."

"I think that I wanna go too." Alex says, shocking everyone at the table, and nearly causing Amanda to fall off the bench. "What?"

Connie exchanges a look with the other girls before shrugging awkwardly. "I dunno Alex, this isn't exactly you're kinda thing."

Alex frowns and folds her arms tightly across her chest. "What do you mean my kinda thing? You said it was public invite, and I've never been to a house party before. I wanna go."

"I agree with Connie, this might not be your thing…especially if you've never been before." Amanda says apologetic.

Alex huffs and turns towards her girlfriend who has successfully kept herself out of the conversation. "Are you going?"

Casey shakes her head quickly and smiles. "No, I can't, I have to watch my sisters tonight because my mom is getting home late again. She has to take care of some things with my grandma, sorry Al."

Alex huffs again and folds her arms tighter. "Well, I'm going."

"What about your dad?" Serena asks curiously, indulging her friend.

"It's perfect, I'll tell him that I'm just staying the night with Casey, it's no biggie and he'll believe it too."

The other four girls exchange looks before they reluctantly agree. They would be lying if they said that it didn't completely shock them when Alex quickly agreed to wanting to go to the party. But if she really wants to go, there is very little that they can do to stop her.

**Later That Night **

"Thanks for picking me up." Alex says as she glances over at Kim from the passenger's seat.

The brunette simply shrugs and absentmindedly drums her fingers against the steering wheel. "No problem. It didn't really seem like you to lie to your dad, and then plan out to have me pick you up at Casey. I didn't know you had it in you Cabot."

"Yeah, well, then I'm just full of surprises then aren't I?" Alex replies smugly before she turns towards the window. "So is Connie bringing Amanda and Serena?"

"Yup."

"Is there like something going on there? Between Connie and Amanda? Something they haven't exactly told anybody?"

Kim snorts and immediately begins to laugh hysterically. "No, absolutely not. Connie doesn't date, and well, Amanda just doesn't go for girls like her. They're more like two peas unfortunately cut from the same pod, but that's about it."

Alex hums in understanding and her eyes widen as she finds them soon pulling up to a large house with all the lights on and several cars parked in the front and in the driveway. She can hear the feint thump of the bass of the music inside, and she catches site of people hanging out and talking on the porch. "Whoa."

"Yeah, try not to get too overwhelmed for your first social gathering." Kim jokes as she gets out of her car and is immediately approached by her three other best friends.

"It's about time you two got here," Amanda scrutinizes playfully. "We were just about to go start partying with out ya."

Kim rolls her eyes and gives the shorter blonde a shove as they make they're way up the cobblestone pathway. She exchanges a few pleasantries with the people hanging around outside before leading the way into the house.

"Whoa," Alex repeats as she notices the house is literally a mansion, and there are people hanging around all aspects of it. Granted, she is most definitely positive that her house is MUCH, MUCH larger but still. For a commoner's house, it's pretty big.

"Ah, I feel like I haven't partied in ages." Connie sighs happily, earning collective eye rolls from the other girls. "What? I'm just saying."

"Ugh, creep alert." Amanda mutters as the group spots Abbie shamelessly chatting up some girl.

Kim literally feels Serena tense next to her, and she fails to fight the urge to roll her eyes. "C'mon Serena, you knew that she was gonna be here."

The blonde nods her head jerkily and aims her gaze to the floor. "Y-yeah I know...I know…" she murmurs glumly.

"Don't worry; she makes me feel cheap too just by looking at her." Connie snaps unsympathetically before she walks away from the group causing Serena to flinch at her biting words.

"Ah, don't listen to her Rena," Alex says putting an arm around her friend. "You're not cheap."

Serena quivers for a moment before she bursts into tears. "I feel like it!" she cries, before running off to god knows where with Amanda quickly tailing behind her.

"And then there were two." Kim mumbles shaking her head disapprovingly. "Sorry about them. I dunno know, but I sometimes feel like I'm responsible for those three."

Alex giggles at the brunette's sternness and she realizes that amongst the four, that Kim is probably the most rationed minded. "I understand. You should go check on her, I think I'll go and try to mingle a little."

Kim raises her eyebrows in surprise at the suggestion. "Are you sure…?" she questions, reluctant to leave Alex by herself.

"I'm sixteen, not six Kimberly, I will be fine." Alex states playfully, learning quickly just how to get under the brunette's skin.

Kim wrinkles her nose at the dreaded use of her horrid name and she sighs and shakes her head as she sets off to find the rest of her peanut gallery.

Alex finds her self having a really good time, despite the impromptu chasing game amongst her friends. She finds a few girls from her psychology class and they immediately begin chatting and giggling about various things. Strangely, at this party, no one treats her like the president's daughter, and she is somewhat grateful for that small little fact.

"Whoa, Princess, didn't expect to see you here." a voice behind her says smugly.

Alex rolls her eyes and puts on her best fake smile for Abbie's oh so slap inviting face. "You seem to often expect too much though hm? That girl you talking to earlier know how much of a slut you are?"

Abbie pretends to look hurt as she makes a wincing face and hisses. "Ouch Cabot, that one hurt. You always this cold Princess?"

"Only to people towards you, and stop calling me that, I am not your 'princess'." Alex snaps.

"I bet you'd like to be." The brunette purrs earning an eye roll. "You here alone? Or did you bring Novak with you?"

Alex narrows her eyes and purses her lips before tersely shaking her head. "No, Casey didn't want to come, but I'm here with the rest of my friends. Why did you want to know anyway?"

"Geez woman, you're cold." Abbie responds again as she offers Alex a red plastic cup in addition to the one that she's holding. "And to think I was actually kind enough to bring you a drink."

Alex hesitates for a moment before she accepts the cup and peers into it taking note of the red colored liquid. "What is this? Is there alcohol in here?"

Abbie rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "No Princess, there's no alcohol in there, it's just punch. Damn, are you always such a saint?"

"No, I just don't want to drink anything that contains alcohol. Unlike you do I'm sure." Alex retorts as she looks into the cup once more. She hesitates for another moment before she brings the cups to her lips and takes a sip of the drink, thoroughly surprised by how good it tastes. "Oh wow, this is surprisingly really good."

"See? I told ya it was good.

"Just because you have me a drink that isn't completely vile, doesn't mean that my resentment towards you has changed any. I still think you're a prick."

Abbie shrugs nonchalantly as if the statement doesn't faze her in the slightest. "Whatever you say Princess." She snickers before leaving Alex to tend to her own thoughts.

As the part progresses, Alex finds herself feeling a little more than off center. She briefly chatted with Amanda and Kim about something, but frankly, she can't exactly remember what it was. It actually feels like someone has filled her head full of cotton balls.

Her vision is going in and out of focus, and every once in a while, she feels like the room takes randomly spontaneous dips. Eventually, she settles on plopping down on a sofa, to rest her head in her hands as rational realities begin to slip away even more with each passing second.

"You okay there Princess?" Abbie chuckles as she takes a seat on the sofa next to the dizzy blonde.

Alex giggles uncontrollably and sits up where she falls back into the couch. "Hehehe, I think so." She slurs, her head involuntarily rolling to the side. "I feel dizzy though, is the room spinning to you?"

Abbie shakes her head and watches Alex more carefully. "Nah, I think it's just you."

"Oh." Alex then groans as she feels another wave of dizziness coming on. She frowns as she realizes that she suddenly feels very, very sleepy as opposed to several minutes ago. Raising her hand to run it through her hair, she feels like her arm weighs a thousand pounds and she immediately drops it to her side.

"Come on Princess," Abbie snickers as she holds out her hand and helps the disoriented blonde off the couch. "You sure you haven't drunk anything, that's considered 'unholy' to you?"

Alex can only groan quietly in response. Her vision has become even more blurred than it was before and her limps feel heavy. She doesn't really comprehend anything as allows the dark haired girl to lead her to where ever it is they're going.

Abbie drops her own cup in the trash as she leads the fumbling girl outside of the house and around back where no one is around. She briefly glances over her shoulder before she gently pushes the blonde against a wall.

Alex just barely feels herself being pressed against a wall as she lets her head thump back into the house and slightly roll to the side. Everything still seems completely fuzzy even as she feels hands sliding under her shirt, and her senses only slightly kick in, but just barely, when she feels a pair of lips on hers.

"Ab…Abbie, what'reyoudoing…" she slurs as her hands and brain refuses to cooperate. "No, you can't…you can't do that…"

Placing another kiss to Alex's lips, Abbie smirks as she gives her breast a firm squeeze before trailing her hot wet kisses down the blonde's neck.

"Just try to relax Princess, try to relax."

**Oooo I know that I am plenty evil for that one. PLENTY evil. Mwaha. Leave feedback? **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm not gonna lie, sometimes your guys' reviews crack me up, and this time was really no different Hehehe. I mean, your reviews on that last chapter, wow! **

**iTrick: I think personally, your review was my favorite. Lol, this is the United States and the 21****st**** century. Something tells me that we don't do public hangings anymore, but I loved your review nonetheless. **

**Anyhow, here's chapter 10, and I'm sure the reviews will turn out just like they did last time. Happy readings!**

Alex groans involuntarily once again as she feels the much stronger girl in front of her continue to feel her up. Her groan is far from pleasurable as she feels her head pounding, everything go completely fuzzy, and she feels like she has little to no control over her hands. She feels those same hands travel from her breasts to her pants as lips continue to nip and lick at various parts of her neck, but she can't seem to find the strength to push Abbie away.

"You wanna know what people are gonna say when they find out I fucked the presidential daughter?" Abbie husks before she bites down hard on the spot at Alex's pulse point before she moves to slip her hand in the blonde's jeans. "You a virgin Princess? 'Cause I love virgins."

"N-no…stop it. Don't…don't touch me."

"I'll make it good for you Princess, I promise."

Before she can get even further, Abbie comes to terms with a well placed fist connecting with the side of her jaw where the impact causes her to lose her balance and fall to the grass.

"Ah, _SHIT_!" Kim swears loudly as she clutches her now broken hand with her good one. "**FUCK** that hurt!"

Abbie growls in pain and frustration, before she gets to her feet. She spits and swears under her breath when she can faintly see blood mixed into the saliva. Growling once again, she sets her sights on a doubled over Kim, but then soon finds herself being forcefully shoved into the deep end of the swimming pool.

"Go crawl back under the rock you came from, Carmichael!" Amanda shouts as she laughs hysterically at the brunette glaring up at her from the pool.

"Kim, are you alright?" Connie asks her best friend, upon seeing her doubled over in pain, swearing up a storm.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Kim hisses, examining her now swollen, bruised, and slightly bloodied hand. Though, whether it is her blood, or Abbie's blood, she just isn't sure. "I swung too hard, and I'm positive my hand is fucking broken."

Meanwhile, Serena tends to a now extremely disoriented Alex. "Alex, are you alright? Did she hurt you?" she asks as the taller blonde slumps against her and groans.

"No…head hurts…head hurts bad…" Alex murmurs as her body practically relies on Serena to keep her up right.

Serena wraps her arms around Alex's waist as the two of them stagger over to where their friends are. She looks down and glances down at Kim's hand, making a face of disgust. "That looks horrible. Does it hurt?"

Kim narrows her eyes and puts on a fake smile. "No Serena, it feels absolutely wonderful." She sneers sarcastically before she nods her head towards the pool. "We gotta get outta here before she gets her bearings together and comes after us. I need to drive, and I don't think I can spare another hand."

The group of five makes their way back towards the front of the house and by the time they get there, Alex has completely passed out. It's actually becoming sort of a struggle for Serena to take on the weight of the taller girl on her own, so she soon requires some extra assistance.

"What're we gonna do with her? She's out cold." Serena asks as she climbs into the passenger seat next to Kim.

The brunette glances at the unconscious girl in her back seat and shakes her head with a sigh. "I really don't know. It's going on two in the morning, and something tells me that we can't exactly drop her on the steps of the white house."

"What about taking her back to Casey's? That way we know that she'll be in good hands." Serena suggests, glancing at Kim's battered hand that is resting on the center consol. "And you need to go to a hospital."

"It's not even that bad," Kim grimaces before shaking her head in disagreement. "I'm not going to a hospital."

"Kim, your hand is turning purple, and it's about the size of a football. You're going to a hospital."

"Fine, but let's get Alex safe first, then we'll worry about me."

* * *

Casey turns over in her bed and pulls the comforter higher up over her body to keep warm. She has found her comfort spot, and is just about to fall back asleep when she swears that she hears a random taping somewhere in her bedroom. Deciding to ignore the noise, she shifts once more and closes her eyes as she tries to fall back asleep.

A few moments later, she hears the tapping again, and this time she sits up in bed and glances around her bedroom, trying to figure the source of the noise. Her attention is brought to the window when she hears the series of light taps once again.

"What the heck is going on…" Casey mumbles to herself as she crawls out of bed and makes her way over to the window. Once she gets there, she sees what has been causing the tapping as she sees a series of small rocks connecting with the pane. "What the heck!?"

With a sigh, she opens the window just as another pebble is thrown and it ends up flying into her room, landing with a small 'thump' on the carpet. Shaking her head, she sticks her head out the window and frowns when she sees Kim and Serena waving up at her as they balance what looks like a sleeping Alex between the two of them.

"Oh no…" she mumbles to herself as she signals for them to wait a moment as she quietly makes her way out of her room, down the stairs, and towards the back door where she meets them on the back patio. "What the heck are you guys doing?"

Serena smiles nervously, and giggles awkwardly at the situation. "See um, Alex kind of…passed out at the party and we really didn't have any other option than bringing her back here. We hope you don't mind…"

"Of course I don't mind, she's my girlfriend." Casey huffs as she ushers them inside. She then quietly leads them up the stairs and to her room where she closes the door behind her and gives the two conscious girls a look. "What happened?" she questions, her eyes widening when she sees the condition of Kim's hand. "Oh god, what happened to your hand?!"

Kim huffs and glances down at her hand, examining it closely. "Does it really look that bad?"

"What. Happened." Casey questions flatly once again, as she gently guides her unconscious girlfriend on to her bed and makes sure that she's comfortable. "Why is she asleep?"

"I didn't say that she was asleep. I just said that she um…passed out." Serena begins to explain but midway through she loses her nerve and elbows Kim in the ribs. "Take it away Kim."

The brunette rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Everyone kinda split up at the party so I can't really tell you exactly what happened from the beginning. I think Abbie must have slipped her something, because when I walked around back, she had Alex against the wall and was about ready to slip her hand in her pants. So, long story short, I punched Abbie in the face, broke my hand, Amanda pushed her in the pool, Alex passed out on the way to the car, and low and behold, here we are standing in your bedroom telling you this story because we had absolutely no idea what to do with her. The end."

Casey opens and closes her mouth several times before she glances at the girl lying motionless on her bed. "Did Abbie…you know."

"I don't think so. Like I said when I got there I think she was about to, I wouldn't let her."

"Well I'm sure she's grateful." Casey murmurs stroking her hand down the side of Alex's cheek. "Anyway, it's late, and the two of you really need to get to a hospital."

Serena snickers and gives Kim a small shove. "See, I told you that you needed to go to a hospital."

"I don't need a hospital!"

"Kim, look at your hand!"

"Fine. Fine. We'll go to a hospital." Kim sighs, not wanting to have this argument any longer. She reaches in her pocket and holds out her car keys to Serena, hesitating when the blonde squeals in excitement. "But if you even so much as scratch my baby girl, I swear that my broken hand will be the very least of your worries."

Serena rolls her eyes and snatches away the keys. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, least of my worries, whatever. G'night Casey!"

"Bye guys." Casey says quietly as she shows her friends back out the door. She makes her way back into her room and sighs upon seeing Alex still lying unconscious on her bed.

"Oh Ali," she sighs stroking the blonde's cheek before leaning down to give it a small gentle peck. "I hope you're okay."

Wanting to make sure that Alex is comfortable, and feels respected, Casey pulls her sleeping bag from the closet and lays it out on the floor. She steals one of the pillows off her bed before she gets down on the floor and makes herself comfortable in her sleeping bag. "Night Alex." She mumbles quietly.

The next morning Casey awakens to the sound of someone vomiting in her bathroom. She gets off the floor and stretches before she notices her empty bed and quietly makes her way to the restroom. She winces when she sees Alex on her hands and knees, retching violently into the toilet as she empties any and all of the contents of her stomach.

"Oh god." Alex groans as she finishes vomiting and rests her back against the wall. She looks up at Casey through hooded eyes, and gives the redhead a shaky smile. "Hey…morning."

"Morning." Casey responds with a small giggle. "How are you feeling? You know, despite the vomiting?"

Alex groans again and screws her eyes shut. "Oh…I feel awful. My head is pounding, my throat is dry, I feel like there is a little old lady tap dancing behind my eyes. I feel just awful."

Casey helps her girlfriend off the floor of the bathroom, and leads her back into the bedroom towards the bed. "C'mon, you lie down and rest. I'll get you some ginger ale for your stomach and some Aspirin for your head."

Alex nods and settles onto the bed where she looks over the edge and sees a ruffled sleeping bag with a pillow on the floor. "Case, did you sleep on the floor?"

"It's no big deal." Casey says with a shrug. "I wanted you to feel comfortable, so I really had no problem taking the floor."

"That's so sweet of you." Alex purrs, slightly recovering and moving her hair to one side. She catches the wide eyed look that Casey is giving her, and slightly tilts her head to the side. "What?"

"Ali, your neck." Casey says quietly, a little bit of hurt lacing her tone.

"What about my neck?" Alex frowns as she gets off the bed and makes her way into the bathroom. "Oh my god." She gasps when she sees various hickies going up and down her neck, complete with a very purple looking bruise on her pulse point. What the hell happened last night?

**Monday Morning **

"Well at least it doesn't look like a huge purple football anymore." Connie says with a shrug as the group analyzes Kim's cast covered hand.

Kim narrows her eyes and takes her hand off the table before turning her attention back to her lunch. "Gee thanks, now tell me what you really think." She grumbles sarcastically, hating that she has to drive one handed now.

"I'm sorry about your hand Kim." Alex says sincerely. "Thank you for…um…saving me I guess."

The brunette shrugs nonchalantly and gives Alex a small smile. "Don't worry about it. So how was the morning after?"

"I puked for probably three hours straight. I felt awful."

"You were drugged sweetie, you were supposed to feel awful." Amanda states blandly.

Alex cringes and shakes her head disapprovingly at the statement. "Yeah, don't remind me. Not exactly my idea of fun. Although, I think the puking came from when I realized that Abbie's mouth had actually been on me. Ew."

Casey tenses and nearly crushes her soda can in her tight nit grip. Despite the fact that she knows what happened wasn't Alex's fault but she can't help but feel the slightest bit of jealous that Abbie was all over her girlfriend. They had just barely used tongue when they kiss for crying out loud!

"Babe, are you alright?" Alex asks, noticing that her girlfriend has sort of been quiet all day.

"I'm fine." Casey mumbles as she puts on a fake smile for the table. She can feel everyone staring at her, analyzing her, but she is thankful that all of the attention is taken off when a very frazzled Serena comes running up to the table.

"Guys, I just came out of the locker room and you will never believe what I just heard." The blonde pants, her eyes wide with shock.

"Which locker room…" Connie deadpans.

Serena rolls her eyes and gives her friend a look. "Really Connie? I was in the girls locker room…why would I go in the boys locker room?"

"Well with you, you never know…"

"ANYWAY, I went to the locker room because Carrie Jennings left her phone on her desk in trig, and I was taking it back to her because I knew she'd be there. So I give Carrie her phone back, and I'm about to leave, but then I hear Abbie laughing and telling the rest of the soccer team that she and Alex had sex at that party on Friday."

Alex, who hadn't exactly been paying all that attention at the start of the story, goes completely pale, and her eyes widen to the size of car tires. Her mouth drops open, mimicking the very look on all the other girl's faces. "What?! We did not have sex! If anything she tried to fucking rape me!"

Serena gives her friend a very sympathetic look and as she takes her seat at the table. "We all know that, and she does too, but that's not what she's telling everybody."

Alex glances at Casey who looks just as pained as she does, before she shakes her head and quickly leaves the table, despite her friends calling after her. She angrily marches her way back into the school, and quickly makes her way towards the locker room.

She scowls when she walks into the locker room and sees the utter bane of her existence laughing with a bunch of teammates about what is most likely her. She keeps her eyes forward even as she hears some of the girls snickering, whistling, and mumbling around her.

"She just couldn't get enough could she?"

"Guess she's back for more then huh?"

"Damn no wonder Abbie tapped that, look at her."

Alex ignores the comments circling around her, and she approaches the slender brunette with a slightly bruised face. She gives Abbie a hard shove, but given that the taller girl is much stronger than she is, it really does little to her advantage.

"You need to tell your little friends the truth." She spits venomously. "You drugged me, tried to rape me, and then Kim nailed you in the face. Got it?"

Abbie's pride looks wounded briefly but the look comes and goes so quick that no one even notices that it was there. Instead, she replaces her initial shock with her typical knowing smirk. "You back for more Princess? You get tired of Novak 'cause she wasn't getting it done for ya?"

Alex's eyes narrow and her hands clench into tight, angry fists. "You leave Casey out of this."

"She jealous you let me fuck you on Friday then? She mad that you went home and told her that I'm sooooo much better than she is?"

"We did not have sex!" Alex hisses, frustrated that her point isn't coming across and that everyone around her is believe this shit hole of a story.

Abbie snickers as Alex's attempt to intimidate her fails futilely. "You're just mad because America's Angel isn't exactly the crisp clean angel that people thought she was."

Alex feels tears line her eyes as everyone around her laughs at the comment. She shakes her head before she turns and practically runs out of the locker room before anything else can be said to humiliate her.

"Let the little whore run, she'll be back." Abbie says to the rest of her teammates before Olivia surprises her with a rough shove; a shove that actually makes her stumble several steps. "Shit, what?!"

"You already fucked her, you don't need to go around being an asshole about it." the shorter brunette says with the shake of her head which causes Abbie to roll her eyes.

Meanwhile, once she is sure that she is far away from the locker room, Alex finds a secluded corner where she slinks down and begins to cry. Now suddenly, she doesn't like public school so much anymore.

**Annnnnd GO! Hahaha, I'm actually intrigued on how many more times I'm going to get 'Abbie is an ass' between all of you before this story is over. Maybe I should keep count. Lol, leave your feedback. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm surprised that I got this out. I wasn't sure if I was gonna finish this chapter. **

**Lexie: No…I don't think we allow public beheadings either lol. **

"Hey." Alex greets her girlfriend as she leans against the lockers clutching her books.

Casey doesn't spare Alex a glance as she continues to put old books in her locker, and take out the ones that she knows she's going to need for the first part of the day. "Hey…" she mumbles, still not even bothering to look at the blonde.

Alex frowns and shifts awkwardly on her feet as she waits for Casey to acknowledge her. When she doesn't get that, she daintily clears her throat trying to draw attention to herself. "What's wrong with you? You've hardly said anything to me for three days. Did I do something?"

Instead of respond Casey slightly glares at Alex out of the corner of her eye before she shakes her head and goes back to what she's doing. "No." she responds flatly, really not wanting to start any full on conversation. Closing her locker, she shifts her books in her arms and finally turns towards Alex. "I've got to get to class. I'll see you later."

Alex opens her mouth to say something more, but closes it as she watches Casey quickly spin on her heel and walk the other direction. She frowns as she stares at the retreating back of her girlfriend in confusion. What the hell just happened?

Casey squeezes her eyes shut as she slows down. She quickly glances behind her to see if Alex is still watching her but relaxes when she notices the blonde has decided to make her way to class. With a sigh, she turns around and is startled when she is suddenly face to face with Kim.

"Jesus Kim, you scared me half to death." she mutters walking around the taller brunette towards her first class.

"You should punch Abbie in the face." Kim states flatly as she and Casey make their way towards their trigonometry class.

Casey frowns and shakes her head at the seemingly ridiculous suggestion. "I'm not going to punch Abbie in the face. Why would I do that?"

"Uh maybe because it's because of her that the whole school thinks your girlfriend is cheap and easy?"

"And would also be because of her that every bone in my body would be broken if I try to hit her. Have you not been paying attention? Abbie is an athlete who works out on daily basis. The most running that I ever do is to catch the bus in the morning. So pardon me if I don't want to be pounded into the ground like a tomato seed."

Kim rolls her eyes as they slip into the classroom and take their seats. "I'm just saying, you need to do something. Stand up for Alex."

"Alex has about sixty secret service agents at her disposal." Casey responds flatly as she gets out her trig book. "Why she hasn't decided to use them is her business."

"I don't know, maybe because she's waiting for her _girlfriend_ to step up and defend her?"

"What am I supposed to do Kim, honestly?! I'm not going to go pick a fight that I know isn't going to solve anything, and that I know I'm not going to win. It's completely pointless. So you tell me, what is it that I'm supposed to do?"

"Hell, I don't know, it's your fight…"

"See, that's what I'm saying! There is no fight and I can't understand why you and the rest of the girls think that the solution to this problem is violence, because it's not!"

"Well I'm just saying. What happened in the hall? Aren't you talking to her?"

"No…not that I'd want to right now or anything…"

Kim raises her eyebrows in confusion at the rather darkly spoken comment. "What do you mean?" she asks curiously, before her lips form into a perfect 'O' shape. "Oh my gosh, are you guys fighting?"

Casey is silent for a moment before she shrugs and begins to absentmindedly doodle on her notebook. "I wouldn't say fighting. We just aren't exactly talking or anything. And frankly I'm a little mad at her."

"For what?"

"Well before you came and got her from my house last week, I tried to convince her not to go to that party because I really didn't want her to go. At all. I knew that a lot of trouble makers would be there, and I didn't want Alex to get hurt, but of course, she didn't listen."

"Give her a break. She's just trying to be a normal teenager."

"I know that, and that's why I feel bad for being mad at her, but I can't help it. That and I can't believe that she actually took a drink from Abbie. I mean come one, how is it NOT like Abbie to put something in a drink? But I didn't tell Alex that, but I think she can kind of tell. So long story short, we haven't exactly been on speaking terms ever since almost three days ago. Today was the first time that she's ever tried to talk to me."

"That's really ridiculous Casey. I mean, come on, it's not like it's her fault!"

"Yeah, I try to keep telling myself that…"

"Miss Greyleck, Miss Novak, do the two of you have something that you would like to share with the rest of the class?" the teacher questions rhetorically.

"No ma'am." Both girls murmur as they start to pay attention to the lesson for the day. Mid way through Casey rolls her eyes when Kim writes her a note that says 'punch Abbie in the face'. Honestly, did this girl not listen to a thing that was said earlier?

**Meanwhile…**

"Alex…Alex….ALEX!"

Alex's head snaps up from her desk in immediate surprise at her name practically being shouted in her ear. "What?!"

Serena tilts her head to the side in concern but nevertheless points to the paper sitting in the middle of their group. "We asked you where the Sierra Nevada started."

Alex narrows her eyes and snatches a colored pencil from Connie's outstretched hand before she hastily scribbles some triangles on where the mountain range is supposed to be. "There." She snips before practically throwing the pencil back at the girl sitting in front of her.

"Geez, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning…" Connie mumbles as she bends over to pick up the discarded object off the floor.

Alex groans before she lays her head back down on her desk, not feeling like going through the motions of school. "Everyone thinks I'm a slut, and Casey won't even look at me. She hasn't even spoke to me for three days and today when I tried to talk to her, she still wouldn't even look at me. I think she's mad at me guys."

Serena's eyes widen and her mouth forms into a perfect 'O'. "I've noticed that! But why would she be mad at you? You didn't do anything wrong…did you?"

"Not that I know of, and like I said, even if I try to ask her about whatever it is that I did wrong, I'm sure that she'll just ignore me like she has been."

"You could always follow her around and continuously bug her until she talks to you." Connie offers with a shrug. "That always seems to work on television."

Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head in disapproval. "I doubt that would work. I don't even knows guys, it's like she's completely shut me off, and this whole slut thing really isn't making it any better. It's like when I need her most, she isn't there."

This time it's Serena who shrugs and comes up with another completely outrageous suggestion. "You could teepee her house…and then say you won't clean it up unless she talks to you."

Connie narrows her eyes and slowly turns her head towards her bubbly friend. "Is that new hairspray you're using leaking through into your brain? God, I swear you are the biggest ditz sometimes."

"Thanks Connie, tell me how you really feel." Serena mutters in response with an eye roll. "I'm just tossing out idea. But Ali, the two of you are really the cutest couple in the history of EVER. I couldn't stand it if the two of you broke up."

"Me either Rena." Alex mumbles sadly. "Me either…"

**Lunch **

"This silent treatment between the two of you is really killing the rest of us." Amanda states blandly as she watches Casey and Alex blatantly ignore each other. Actually, it's more of Casey ignoring Alex but still…it's still ignoring.

"Yeah, this has been going on for almost four days now." Kim says seriously, eying her two friends with curiosity. "It needs to stop, and I'm not the only one here who agrees with that idea."

Alex huffs and folds her arms as she looks at the three girls sitting across the table. "Yes well, I am doing what I can to fix the situation. The fact that SOMEONE wants to be completely childish about this entire ordeal is so not my problem."

Casey rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she knows exactly what Alex is trying to do; she's trying to get a rise out of her. But Casey intends on staying quiet, simply because she doesn't want to talk about it; especially in front of their friends.

"Seriously guys come on." Serena groans giving Alex a gentle kick under the table. "You guys are too cute to fight, and I don't wanna see you guys break up. Especially if it's over something as petty as this."

"You don't know what it's about Serena." Alex states flatly before turning to Casey. "I don't even know what it's about. Frankly, if you're going to be mad at me, I think that I would at least have a right to know what it is that I've done to deserve this childish silent treatment."

"I'm the childish ones, yet here you are using passive aggressive tactics in trying to get me to speak to you." Casey mumbles quietly, still not looking up from where she was intently staring at the table. "If anything I would say that it's you who is being childish."

Alex's eyes narrow into thin angry slits as she stands up from her spot on the bench. "Casey seriously! What is it about me that is suddenly so repulsive and suddenly so sickening that you can't even look at me anymore, let alone speak to me! And you know what, it's not just me who notices, the rest of the girls here notice too."

"No, do not bring us into this." Kim mutters shaking her head as she and the rest of the girls duck their heads, not wanting to be apart of this fight. "She does have a point though. We have kind of noticed that the energy between the two of you has been a little more than negative."

Casey rolls her eyes and finally for the first time in nearly four days she makes direct contact with Alex. However, he gaze is steely, cold, and frankly, it's a look that Alex has never seen before. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I just don't want to talk to you, because I just DON'T? Why does everything have to have a reason for you?"

"Because you're hurting me and I deserve to know why." Alex responds firmly as she crosses her arms tightly over her chest. "I don't want you ignoring me anymore, and I demand to know why you have been."

"You can't _demand_ anything from me Alex. I'm not your slave, I'm not your servant, and I'm not one of your little workers that waits on you hand and foot on a daily basis like you get when you're at home." Casey nearly shouts, quickly recomposing herself because she just isn't the type of person who shouts. "You shouldn't have went to that party that night."

Alex's mouth falls open as she catches the tail end of Casey's rant. "THAT'S what this is about? Because I went to some stupid party?"

Casey's anger flares and she hits the table, succeeding in causing the other girls to jump from being startled by the noise. "Yes that's what this is about Alex. Because you went to that stupid party. That stupid party that I told you not to go to, and that stupid party where you got hurt. It's your own fault that it happened, because I told you that I didn't want you going to a party like that."

"You aren't in charge of me!" Alex shrieks, her pain and her anger beginning to mix into one colossal emotion. "I wanted to go because I want to feel like a normal kid! And you're blaming all that happened there on me? Aren't you supposed to defend me?" "Well it's kind of hard to defend you when you make stupid decisions." Casey replies firmly, folding her arms tightly.

Alex falls completely silent upon hearing Casey's cold words come out as calmly as they did. She can't believe what she's hearing. The girl who is supposed to be her girlfriend, who is starting to fall in love with is blaming her for the horrible things that happened. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches the movement of a person, and she quickly spins on her heel with out a second glance at Casey or the girls.

Blinded by her anger, Alex quickly storms across the courtyard and stops a completely clueless Abbie dead in her tracks. Alex then grabs a hold of the brunette's jacket, before she quickly throws her arms around her neck, and kisses her smack on the lips in front of the entire courtyard.

Four jaws practically hit the table as Casey slowly begins to comprehend what's going on. She unclenches her fists before she quickly gathers her things from the table and heads inside the school with out another word, and certainly not another glance behind her.

**Oooooo! Oh snap, that was big. Why did I do that? Because I'm evil and practically the queen of cliffhangers, that's why. Leave your feedback!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Guys...for the last time. No hanging, no beheading, no firing squad, no burning at the stake, no water torture, no torture rack, no lethal injection, none of that! Geez, you guys are secretly violent…anyway, happy readings! **

"Dude, is it my eyes that are playing tricks on me, or did Alex literally just go over there and kiss Abbie Carmichael on the lips…in front of everyone…" Amanda deadpans as they watch everything practically unfold.

"No, no, I see it too." Serena murmurs in response, completely in awe what is taking place. In fact, she and the other three girls are so in shock, that they barely comprehend Casey walking away before she's halfway towards the school. "Hey, Casey, wait up! Don't leave!" she calls out before scrambling after the red haired girl.

Meanwhile, in a strange twist of irony, Abbie is the one who breaks the impromptu lip lock, looking at the blonde clinging to her in utter confusion. "Alex, what the hell?"

A little thrown off by what she has just done, and slightly by the fact that the bane of her existence just called her by her actual name, she quickly separates herself for the confused athlete before she makes her way back across the courtyard to her table. Even once she gets there, she can feel the eyes of the other girl's boring into her, but she decides to stay completely silent, knowing that she can't exactly look any of them in the eye right now.

One usually talkative Kim Greyleck finds herself having to literally bite down on her tongue to keep from saying anything as Alex gathers her things and heads in the same direction that Casey and Serena did not even five minutes prior. Once she's sure Alex is out of sight and earshot, she turns back to the remaining two girls seated at the table with her. "Well damn."

"All of this puts me in a fighting mood." Amanda grinds out clenching her fists. "Nothing would please me more than to be able to put a dent in that jocks face right now."

"Everything puts you in a fighting mood." Connie states disapprovingly. "If you keep it up, you're gonna get suspended again, or maybe even expelled this time."

Kill rolls her eyes at her two friends as she gathers her own things as she finally makes up her mind to go look for Alex. "Don't do anything stupid…" she mutters to the two girls before heading inside the school as well.

Serena frowns as she rounds one last corner, and her heart breaks a little when she sees Casey quietly sobbing in a corner. She sighs a little before she approaches the girl and takes a seat next to her. "Oh Case, please don't cry. Everything will work out."

Casey flushes deeply at realizing that she was followed and someone is seeing her cry. She wraps her arms tighter around her self and tucks her self further into the corner. "Go away Serena."

"No, I'm not gonna 'go away'. When you obviously need someone to talk to. Like I said, it will all get better, things just get really hard sometimes."

"It's not going to get better Serena, it's not. All I wanted to do was look out for her, that's all I wanted. I-I've never cared about someone as much as I care about her! I changed for her Serena! It was all for her. She was the first person to ever express any kind of interest in me. Why would she do that?"

Serena shuffles closer and risks wrapping an arm around Casey, letting out a sigh of the relief when the red head leans into the embrace. "Anger sweetie. Both of you said things that shouldn't have been said. I agree, she shouldn't have done what she did, but I think its best that if you two talk about it."

Casey shakes her head vigorously as she reaches up and wipes some of the tears from her eyes. "No, I can't. What if she never even liked me? What if she just felt sorry for me?"

"Honey, don't say that. Of course she liked you, she liked you a lot, we all could tell."

"Then why would she go kiss Abbie like that? And right in front of me? She doesn't care Serena, I'm telling you; she just doesn't care." Casey then proceeds to move away from the preppy blonde and stands up, still wiping her tears away. "Things are just so hard right now…"

Serena frowns and stands as well, her concerns evident on her face. "What do you mean?"

Casey flushes again and hugs her self tightly as she averts her gaze to the tiled flooring. "Things, ah, just aren't that great at home, that's all. I really don't wanna elaborate or anything." She concludes, feeling to embarrassed to talk about her home life. "I'm just gonna head to my next class early. I'll see you around."

Serena contemplates following Casey as she makes her way down the hall, but she assumes that the girl just wants her space so she settles on not following this time. She sighs and shakes her head for a moment before she bends down and picks up her things to head about her own business, not really taking the time to notice the blonde that was eavesdropping on their prior conversation.

Alex has to bite down on her lip extra hard to keep from speaking to either Casey or Serena alerting them of her presence. Her anger and adrenaline has washed away, and it's replaced by the pang of hurt and guilt; in fact, she feels like crying.

She turns around, about to walk away, when she is thoroughly surprised by a presence behind her. Her shock briefly flashes across her face, and as soon as it's there, and it's gone. "I don't want to talk to anyone." She murmurs, attempting to move past the brunette that obviously intentionally followed her.

Abbie steps to the side, succeeding in blocking Alex's path. She folds her arms tightly, and for once, her expression is void of any of the typical smugness one would expect to see. "Yeah, tough luck with that. Why'd you kiss me?"

"I wasn't thinking," Alex replies as nonchalantly as she can with a dismissive shrug before her gaze turns cold. "What does it matter to you anyway? Worried about me embarrassing you in front of your friends? You've already told them that you slept with me. What could an innocent little kiss do to your oh so flawless reputation…?"

Abbie frowns a little before she drags her fingers through her hair. "No, I just wanted to know why you'd kiss me when you're still a thing with Novak. Or a thing you were with Novak. Kinda saw her leave back there. Just wanted to know why you'd ruin your 'good thing' for no reason."

Alex sighs and leans against the wall. "Why do you even care anyway? Shouldn't you be jumping for joy because now you can try to bed me properly? And I'll have you know that it was not for 'no reason'. It happened because of a really stupid fight. And that really stupid fight happened because of what you did, or rather what you tried to do to me at that party."

"Yeah, about that…listen, it was wrong of me to try and take advantage of you like that. I'm sorry."

"Right, it's wrong when you try to take advantage of me, but when you take advantage of Serena, it's completely okay."

Abbie winces a little before she shrugs her shoulders. "Ah, Serena was different. Serena knew what she was getting in to when she wanted to go out with me. You, you have this innocence about you that's a little…weird I guess. I dunno, I guess I don't wanna take that away. So, I am sorry."

Alex narrows her eyes and her lips purse into the thinnest little line. "I see no reason for me to accept your apology. You're still an asshole."

"I can live with that. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry, that's all." the lean brunette concludes with another shrug. "I'll see ya around."

Alex frowns and looks off the other direction as hears Abbie walk the other direction. She lets out a huff of irritation when she feels a presence at her side once again. "I thought you were leaving. Do I have to spell it out slowly that I don't care about your half assed apology?"

"Well frankly, I don't think that I need to apologize for anything, but if you remind me what it is I did, I'll try."

Alex turns her head a feint blush creeps to her cheeks as she casts her gaze down to the floor. "I'm sorry; I thought you were Abbie…"

"I had assumed since I saw her walking off a few seconds ago." Kim notes with raised eyebrows. "What did she want? Was she trying to hurt you again?"

"No, no, nothing like that, it's not important really. Um, were you looking for me?"

"Yeah, actually I was. I was gonna ask what the hell that was that went on outside."

Alex flinches and shifts her books in her arms as she pushes herself away from the wall. "Let's walk and talk, I need to go to my locker." She mutters quickly. "I was just angry okay? What she said hurt me, and I was just really hurt, and really upset, and I wasn't thinking. It just happened."

Kim raises her eyebrows again and bites the inside of her cheek. "Right, because things like that 'just happen'."  
"Are you here to scrutinize me Kim, because that really is the last thing that I need right now."

"It really isn't my place to say, I just wanted to know what the hell that was. Especially with all the things people are saying about you right now. You do of course realize that the very last thing that you just did is help the cause of the situation? And what about Casey? Hell, I don't even know where she went!"

Alex closes her eyes and takes several calming deep breaths. "Before you and Abbie walked up to me, I heard her talking to Serena. I-I've never seen her cry, other than that time we stopped Abbie from picking on her at lunch that time. I feel just awful, but it isn't fair! She hurt me too!"

"I really don't think this is the kind of thing where you can use that 'fairness' clause." Kim points out as she leans against the lockers. "So are you gonna try to talk to her?"

"I tried talking to her before, what makes you think that she's gonna listen to me now? She needs to come talk to me, and if she really wanted to, she would." Alex says as she rather forcefully shoves all her books in her locker. "I can't be on my knees begging for her, I just can't do it."

Kim sighs and kicks at imaginary dust on the floor. "I'm just saying."

"You're always 'just saying', Kim…"

"True, but seriously. Maybe if you two would talk, then things would be okay?"

"Well, talking doesn't solve everything." Alex concludes firmly before slamming her locker and making her way down one of the many halls of the school.

Kim sighs again just as the bell rings. She hates it when her friends fight, especially when it's with each other.

**Later **

Casey sighs heavily as she makes her way into her house after a rather stressful walk home from the bus stop. She dumps her backpack in the living room, and then proceeds into the kitchen where she finds her mother busying herself with random household things.

"Hello sweetie, how was school?" the elder woman asks as she washes her hands in the sink.

Casey shrugs and plops down in one of the chairs at the table. "It was okay I guess." She lies, though she knows that her mother can probably detect her lying. "How was looking for a job today."

Casey's mother sighs as she tries her hand on a dish towel. She then leans against the counter and folds her arms as she looks down at her daughter with a sorrowful look. "We're going to have to move honey. I'm still struggling in finding a job, and the bills are getting to be too much."

"But Mom, isn't there anything that we can do? I-I'll get a job so I can help, I'll even stop going to school if I need to, please Mom, there has to be something we can do." Casey stutters, her throat tightening as she feels the tears spring to her eyes once again.

"Oh sweetheart, that's very sweet of you to want to do such a thing, but I need you to focus on school Casey. I need you to focus on school so you can go to a good college and become a lawyer just like you want."

Casey folds her arms tightly and sits back in her chair, her head hanging low from shame. "I would make a crappy lawyer anyway. I'm awkward, and no one would ever really listen to anything that I had to say. They don't now. All of this assuming that I would actually even get into law school. Or even go to college for that matter…"

"Sweetheart, don't say things like that." the older woman says softly, placing a hand on Casey's shoulder. "You are a very intelligent young lady, and you will get into a good college, and I am positive you will make an excellent attorney one day."

"Yeah, if anyone would ever really treat me like I mattered." Casey mumbles before she gets up from her seat and heads upstairs where she locks herself in her room. She sits on her bed, and is still slightly shameful that the tears fall even in the privacy of her own bedroom.

_'I've never mattered to anyone. Why would I be so stupid to think someone like Alex would ever really care?'_

**Guys, I have bad news. I broke my hand. Which makes typing on the computer extra, extra hard. Fortunately, I have come up with a solution. I can still write with my good hand, so I write every thing out, and then I have my sister type it up and uploaded, like she so generously did here. It is a little time consuming, but it's worth I because I want all my readers to be happy! **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave your lovely feedback!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hm…**

When Alex walks into science with her brain on autopilot. She walks through the room and takes her usual seat, but two things don't register in her mind as soon as she takes a seat. One; Serena is sitting next to her where usually it's Casey, and two; there is a dead frog in a pan on her table.

"Oh my god, what is this?!" she hisses upon noticing the rather slimy looking amphibian along with several dissection tools.

"That, Miss Cabot, is a frog." Dr. Munch states as he walks to the front of the classroom. "Today class, we will be exploring the anatomy of a frog, for our anatomy unit for the next two weeks. You and your lab partner will be responsible for the dissection of this frog all on your own, using the notes that we have taken over the past several days so I hope all of you have been paying very close attention." He concludes, clearing his throat exaggeratedly as he glares at Abbie who seems to be busying her self with talking to Olivia. "Miss Carmichael, is there something that the two of you would like to share with the rest of the class?"

"Nope…" Abbie responds blankly causing Olivia to snicker uncontrollably.

Munch sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. There is always that one student…that one student that is just an epic pain in the ass every single day. "Miss Benson, would you please switch chairs with Miss Southerlyn?"

Serena blanches about three shades, and she looks up at her teacher in utters shock. Quickly raising her hand, she shakes her head as she realizes she refuses to be Abbie's lab partner. "Sir, if you don't mind…can I switch seats with Abbie instead? She and I don't work that well together." She explains, nearly melting under the deadly glare she's getting from the girl next to her.

"Very well." The doctor sighs before he wafts his hand in the air, motioning for them to make the switch.

"Sorry Alex…" Serena mumbles before she gathers her things and moves towards her new seat.

Alex groans and covers her eyes as she mentally curses all of the forces in the world that have allowed this to happen. 'I would be much better off doing this by myself.' She thinks indignantly before something clicks in her head again. Glancing over her shoulder, she notices how Casey is seated in the far back table of the room by her self; the same place that she was sitting when Alex first got there. In fact, she even notices that the redhead has converted back to her old conservative self complete with her glasses that she wore at first.

"You, uh, know we're supposed to start right?" Abbie speaks up, slightly startling the blonde out of her deep thoughts.

Alex jumps in her seat and turns back towards the icky looking frog in the pan. "Right…I see. Oh god, this is disgusting. When we were taking those notes, I never thought that we would literally be dissecting a frog…" she groans aloud as she picks up the scalpel.

"If you really don't wanna do it, I can."

"Yeah, and then fail the class for the rest of the school year? I don't think so." Alex huffs before she stares at the frog as if waiting for it to cut itself.

"Make the first incision straight across the throat." Abbie states after a few minutes of silence.

Alex narrows her eyes and fights the urge to roll them. "Wrote the answers on your hand, did you?"

Abbie shakes her head and rolls her eyes at the rather sarcastic statement. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not an idiot. This school wouldn't have a girl's soccer team if I was."

"Could've fooled me."

"Are you going to sit there and insult me the rest of the class, or are you going to cut open the frog?"

"I've got it." Alex huffs again as she hovers the scalpel over the frogs throat for the first incision. After a moment of resistant hesitation, her hand begins to shake and she finally settles on handing the scalpel over to Abbie. "Here, you do it. I can't do this." she murmurs before glancing over her shoulder at Casey once more. She frowns when she sees that Casey has pretty much almost completed the assignment while the rest of the class has barely even started. _'Man, I really messed up.'_

**Later**

Kim runs into just the person she was looking for as she makes her way to the pool. She hands Kylie Beale her notepad that she had left in their last period class, thankful that she had just caught the tall swimmer on her way out. She turns to leave when she sees about five girls blocking her way out the door. It doesn't take her a while to recognize Courtney Fields, Laura Sumner, Janet Lopez, Kristi Miller, and Morgan Harper from the varsity soccer team. Great, because this is exactly what she needs right now.

"What do the five of you want?" Kim asks exasperatedly as she just wants to move past Abbie's band of road dogs and get to class.

Courtney rolls her eyes and shoves the thin brunette back further into the swim gym where she and the other four surround her. "We've got a bone to pick with you Greyleck."

"I'm sure that it didn't take all of you to come find me to speak with me." Kim states blandly, starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable at being so close to open water. She sighs and shakes her head as she realizes what it is that they probably want. "Does whatever this is have to do with Abbie?"

"It might." Morgan speaks up with a shrug. "What do you think it has to do with? If you even think at all?"

"Cute…" Kim answers blandly with another eye roll.

"We heard about what you did to Abbie at that party." Janet says spitefully. "You're the reason why she had that bruise on her face."

"Yeah well your girl Abbie was molesting my friend. I wasn't about to stand there and let her get away with it." Kim states firmly, still feeling uncomfortable in the situation.

"It's your word, against everyone else's. Everyone knows that Alex willingly had sex with her." Laura says speaking up for the first time.

"You weren't even there, how the hell do you know what happened?"

"Long story short is, you mess with Abbie, you mess with us Greyleck. And you're gonna pay for it."

There isn't a whole lot in society that scares Kim, but seeing as she is definitely out numbered and maybe only five feet away from a pool, she feels a little more than threatened. "Y-you guys need to back off. You weren't even there, so you don't know what happened. Abbie was trying to hurt Alex, and then after I punched her she got shoved in the pool where she came out looking like a wet rat with rabies."

"Oh, we'll show you a wet rat."

Kim's eyes widen briefly as she moves to push her way past the girls but finds her self forcefully pushed back into the circle. She doesn't really know which ones but one of the girls swiftly punches her in the stomach before two of them shove her into the deepest end of the swimming pool. The five girls quickly run from the pool just as the final bell rings, all of them completely oblivious to the fact that the brunette can't swim.

After about a moment of hysterical flapping in the water, Kim holds her breath for about as long as she can until her body gives in to it's natural tendencies and everything slowly fades to black.

* * *

Connie exits the swim locker room with her headphones blasting in her ears as she hums to her self. She throws her towel over her shoulder and makes her way over to the bench to wait for the rest of the swim team so they can start practice. She's about halfway there when she swears that she sees something in the pool out of her peripheral vision. Frowning, she takes her headphones out of her ears and her eyes immediately widen when she realizes that it is in fact a person floating at the bottom of the pool.

Not even thinking twice, Connie tosses her phone to the ground and dives under the water to save whomever it is that has fallen in. Upon reaching the person, her heart stops beating and sinks drastically when she realizes that it's her best friend.

She wraps an arm around the unconscious girl's waist and quickly begins to swim towards the top of the pool. Once the two break the surface, Connie takes a deep breath to clear her airways. "**COACH CAMPBELL!**"

Immediately a woman in her mid to late twenties bursts out of her office upon hearing her name being called in distress. She quickly rushes over to where she can make out two teenaged girls floating in the pool and one of them looks to be unconscious.

"Connie, oh my god, what happened?!" the coach asks as she aids the teen in getting the unconscious girl out of the pool.

"I-I-I don't know! I came out of the locker room, and she was-she was underwater! I don't know how long she was there!" Connie stutters climbing out of the pool just as her swim coach gently lays Kim out on the ground.

The dark haired woman places her fingers over Kim's pulse point and swears in a hiss as she immediately begins doing CPR. "She's not breathing," she mutters quietly. "Connie, your friend isn't breathing; I need you to call 911."

**Meanwhile…**

"Where in the hell is Kim, she was supposed to meet me here like ten minutes ago. She's my ride home!" Serena exclaims with a sigh.

"Why didn't you get Connie to take you home?" Alex questions as she, Serena, and Amanda are waiting around outside after school has ended.

Amanda shakes her head in the negative at the question. "Connie has swim practice today. It's strange, Kim is usually the first one out here waiting for us and then _she's_ the one complaining about how slow _we_ are. That girl has the patience of a worker bee."

Alex lightly giggles at the comment before turning to Serena. "Well, if need be, I can always drop you off at your house."

"But…you don't drive." Serena points out with narrowed eyes as if that was the most obvious piece of information in the world.

"No, but I do have a motorcade, so I think it relatively balances out about the same. Besides, I used to take Casey home all the time…before she started ignoring me." Alex says quietly, feeling slightly ashamed for all that has gone on lately.

"You should talk to her." Amanda speaks up, noticing the awkwardness between the two lately.

"I don't even know if she wants to talk to me. It's like she's reverted back to her old self. She won't even look at me, she sits by her self in class and at lunch, she doesn't talk to anyone. I had to fucking dissect a frog with Abbie Carmichael today because Casey was sitting by her self and a certain SOMEONE decided to ditch me!" Alex exclaims in response.

Serena blushes and hangs her head in slight shame. "I-I said I was sorry Alex! Gosh, it was either you had to sit with Abbie or I did, and I just couldn't do it. Not after I let her…"

"Swipe your V-Card." Amanda finishes off nonchalantly, flinching when she realizes that she was thinking out loud. "Geez Serena, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that..."

"It's fine…I'm just one of many I guess." Serena says with a small sigh.

The girls engage themselves into conversation once more but it all comes to an abrupt halt when an ambulance pulls up in front of the school. All of the students part to the side when a team of paramedics rushes out with a gurney.

"What the hell is going on?" Serena questions upon seeing the cops and the fire department pull up as well.

"Someone probably overdosed on ecstasy or heroine or something." Amanda murmurs with a shake of her head wondering just how many overdoses they're going to have.

"I'm not even going to ask how many times this has happened for you to end up saying it like that." Alex says with a dismissive headshake.

"Yeah well, all I can say is that I hope its Abbie and it's because she got trampled by the football team." Serena speaks up, earning a curious look from the other two girls. "What? I'm just saying…"

The quickly forming crowd of students begins to whisper profusely as the police offers make sure that they aren't crowding the door. Amanda, Alex, and Serena pale collectively when they see the paramedics reappear quickly pushing the gurney now carrying an unconscious Kim Greyleck towards the ambulance.

"Oh my god!" Serena screeches, moving to push past the crowd but is stopped by Amanda quickly grabbing her arm.

Moments later, Connie staggers out of the school in her swim tracksuit and her wet hair pulled into a ponytail. She makes it about ten feet before she drops to the ground and begins to cry hysterically.

"C-Connie what happened?" Amanda asks with widened eyes as they reach their hysteric friend.

"I-I don't know! I came out of the locker room after school ended and sh-she was just in the pool ! I had my earphones in so I didn't hear anything but there she was and-and I don't know why! I pulled her out and oh god guys, she wasn't breathing! Coach Campbell was doing CPR the whole time until the paramedics got here." Connie explains, crying harder as she has to retell the story. "No one was saying anything, and I didn't understand what it was they _were _saying and I just, I don't know if she's gonna be alright!"

Alex places her hand over her mouth and her own tears begin to fall while Serena crouches down to the ground and wraps her arms around Connie where the two begin to cry on each other's shoulders. The only person who hasn't exactly started crying yet is Amanda but that's only because she's too terrified at the moment to do so.

**Um…well…shit….leave a review? **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: New chapter for you guys. Enjoy. **

Alex taps her fingers repeatedly against the door of the SUV. She huffs to her self and glances outside and shakes her head when she sees the beaming patrons, and wandering bystanders. Why can't she ever be seen as a normal teen, and not have to ride around in vehicles with flashing lights, American flags, and sporting the presidential seal?

Upon seeing that they've arrived at their destination, Alex reaches towards the front seat and places her hand firmly on Eliza's shoulder. "I want you to send the other cars away. Then I want you, and only you to come back and get me when I call you, okay?"

Eliza opens her mouth to protest but sighs heavily when she sees the look that the teen is giving her. How can she ever refuse that look? "Fine, but promise me that you'll be careful?"

"I promise." Alex says as she gets out of the SUV and makes her way around to the driver's side. She leans in and gives the agent a quick kiss on the cheek and smiles. "Now go, I promise I'll be fine." She reiterates before she makes her way up the stone pathway. She makes her way up the steps and lets her finger hover over the doorbell for a moment before she digs deep and finds the courage to press it just in case she loses her nerve in a few seconds.

Waiting patiently, Alex shifts uncomfortably from one leg to the other. After probably about a minute or so, she rings the doorbell again and returns to awkwardly shifting to keep her self occupied. Another moment of waiting, and her heart soon freezes when she hears the locks being turned on the other side.

Casey swings open the door, and abruptly frowns when she sees that it's Alex that's been ringing her doorbell from the other side. If she were a rude person, she's positive that she would slam the door in the blonde's face, but thankfully she isn't that kind of person. Thus, even though she isn't rude enough to slam the door in Alex's face, that doesn't mean she needs to be happy about seeing her. "What do you want?"

"To talk." Alex replies shakily, wondering if Casey has any idea about the events that had just taken place at the school not too long ago, or if she was already gone by then. "Please? Can I come in?"

"Why? What could you possibly want to say that I would want to hear?" Casey questions scornfully, her green eyes battling the hurt that is threatening to shine through.

Alex flinches at the harshly spoken words and hangs her head in defeat. "I know that I deserve that, and I probably deserve more, but please? I-I really need to talk to you. Please Casey."

Casey doesn't know why, but she sees a sense of slight fear, worry, and pleading all pooling in Alex's eyes. She steps to the side, opening the door wide enough for the blonde to enter. Without saying another word, she closes the door and leads the way up to her bedroom where she closes that door as well and tightly folds her arms across her chest. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

Taking a deep breath, Alex jerkily nods her head and begins. "I-I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for hurting you. I miss you Case, I really do. I miss what we had before, how we could just sit and talk and hold hands and cuddle and kiss. I just…I messed up. I messed up by hurting you, and I'm really, really sorry."

"You really hurt me Alex." Casey says sadly as she angles her gaze to the floor. "You were the first person that ever expressed any kind of interest me. People…they didn't notice me Alex. No one noticed me, and the ones who did would pick on me relentlessly for no apparent reason at all. Then you came, and you talked to me and you actually like me. You liked me, for me, and you're the first daughter! It's completely unbelievable. But I guess some things are too good to be true."

"Casey, don't say that, please. I-I shouldn't have kissed Abbie like that. I was upset with you because you were ignoring me, and I'm so used to getting what I want that I freaked." Alex exclaims as she begins pacing quickly. "I-I do like you Casey. I like you a lot, and I would even go as far enough as to say that I'm starting to fall for you."

Casey's eyes widen in shock, and her mouth falls open at Alex's revelation. "What d-do you mean by y-your falling for me?"

Alex shakes her head and crosses the room where she eventually places both of her hands on Casey's cheeks. "I mean, that I'm falling for you, as in I think I'm starting to fall in love with you."

"B-but how? I'm just so…me. I'm geeky, and nerdy, and I'm not even that pretty…"

"Stop. We've been through this remember? I love you just the way you are. You can be geeky, and nerdy all you want to, but you're still the most beautiful girl that I've ever laid eyes on. You don't have to change just for me, because I love you how you are."

Casey can't hide the blush that makes it's way across her features, and she's positive that her face matches the color of her hair. She is slightly taken off guard when she feels a pair of soft lips meet her own, but she most definitely doesn't protest against it.

After a few moments, Alex breaks the gentle yet innocent kiss before she rests their foreheads together. "Can you ever forgive me for being such an ass?"

"I think we can work our way back up to where we were." Casey says with a small smile, before her face falls again. "But I have some news…news that isn't particularly good news."

Alex takes a step back and nods her head. "Me too, but you go first." She says shakily, wanting to put off what she has to say.

Casey takes a deep breath and nods as she and Alex sit on the edge of her bed. "Um, my mom couldn't find a job…so she says that we're going to have to move in with my grandmother…which is clear across the city."

Pain flashes across Alex's face, and her eyes widen. "Casey, no!"

"Yeah…I guess that's how it has to be. I don't want it to be like that, but she can't find a job, and-"

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Alex says shaking her head. "I kept meaning to tell you this, but couldn't find the right time. I-I kind of had a talk with my dad, after the last time that you said that your mom was having trouble finding a job. He said that he can help you out if your mom would go and meet with him. Like I said, I wanted to tell you earlier but I didn't know how what with everything…"

Casey's eyes widen in shock and her mouth falls agape for the second time. "A-Alex, how did you…why did you…I don't understand."

"I don't want to lose you." Alex explains taking both of the redhead's hands in her own. "I don't want to lose you again, and I really want to do something nice for you and your family. My dad is more than happy to help you, you just have to talk to your mom. Please say you will."

"I-I will, don't worry, I will." Casey nods shakily before chuckling nervously. She frowns later when she sees Alex's facial expression break into one of worry. "Hey, what were you going to say earlier before I told you about my mom?"

Alex's face falls completely and she hangs her head low as the words freeze in her throat. "Ah, w-were you at school at maybe around three fifteen earlier?"

"No, I had was excused earlier from our last class period because I had to get home. Why what's up?"

"U-um. Something happened after school, and Kim had to be taken to the hospital."

Casey's eyes widen and she puts her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god, what happened? Is she alright?"

"I wasn't there when it happened, so I don't know exactly what happened." Alex begins. "But she may have drowned in the pool at school, and none of us know if she's alright. Connie was the one who found her and pulled her out of the water. All I know is that Serena, Amanda, and I were all standing outside waiting around when we saw the paramedics rush in and then bring her out on a stretcher."

"Oh my god that's horrible! I just-I can't even-wow…and you said you don't know if she's alright?"

"No...all I saw was that she was unconscious and not moving when they put her into the ambulance…"

**The Next Day **

"Guys, I don't think staring at her like that is going to make her open her eyes…" Amanda says quietly as she and three other girls occupy the rather spacious hospital room.

"She looks so…different like this." Serena adds in sniffling a little before she starts sobbing in between her words again. "Why won't she wake up?"

"Her Mom said that the doctor said that she's in a little bit of a coma. She was underwater too long." Connie answers not taking her eyes away from her unconscious friend. "She also said that the doctor said that Kim might have a little bit of brain damage when she wakes up….if she wakes up…"

Casey purses her lips and shakes her head tightly. "This doesn't make any sense. She hates water. Why would she be anywhere near a pool when she knows that she can't swim? Too be honest, I know that she didn't jump in thinking she could swim because the three of you said that she still had her clothes on. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe she slipped and fell in?" Serena offers as she looks up at her two standing friends from where she is seated in one of the chairs.

"Also doesn't make sense." Connie adds in. "She is completely terrified of the water and as Casey suggested earlier; she wouldn't be anywhere near it. Kim isn't as reckless as to put her life in danger like that when she knows for a fact that she can't swim. She wouldn't do it."

"She could've been pushed…" Amanda offers nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders not intending on her comment to be taken seriously.

"Who would push her in?" Casey asks curiously. "Honestly, that's a cruel thing to do to someone, especially if you know they can't swim."

"They might not have known." Connie adds in. "It could have been intentionally accidental. They might have intended to shove her in the pool out of spite, but they could have been completely oblivious to the fact that she doesn't know how to swim."

"Once again, who would do that?"

"The same person that she punched in the face, and the same person that Amanda shoved in the pool at Daniel's party that one night." Serena says blandly, her thoughts conveying that of the other's perfectly. She sighs heavily and reaches over to the bed where she begins shaking one of Kim's hands as if it'll get the brunette to open her eyes sooner. "This just isn't fair…"

"I start to freak out when I think about what could've happened if I hadn't found her." Connie says quietly as she reaches over and repeats Serena's earlier actions. "I wonder if she can hear us."

"She probably can." Casey states shrugging her shoulders. "It's been noted that patients who have suffered severe long term comas have been able to hear everything that's going on in their surroundings. So it's a very good possibility that she can hear our entire conversation; her body just isn't allowing her to respond to its regular functions."

"Okay hotshot, since you're enlightening us on whether or not she can hear us, do you think you can tell us how long she could be 'asleep'?"

Casey shrugs her shoulders again and angles her gaze towards the clean tiled floor. "It all depends on the extent of her neurological injuries I guess. It could be days, weeks, months, or even years. It just all depends on how bad it is."

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